TWO quick-thinking railway staff have been honoured for their efforts to save the life of an elderly man who collapsed on a station footbridge.

The pair were presented with the Royal Humane Society's Resuscitation Award for their concerted attempt to save the man, an American tourist.

The holidaymaker was on the footbridge at York station when he collapsed. Stephen Soards and David Kitchen immediately went to his side. While waiting for an ambulance to arrive they performed first aid on the man, whose heart had stopped.

He regained his pulse during the journey to hospital, but died several days later.

However, paramedics and police both agreed the man would have died on the footbridge had it not been for the efforts of Mr Soards, a customer service delivery manager, and Mr Kitchen, a customer service assistant.

Mr Soards, a 38-year father-of-two, said he was surprised he had been nominated for the award.

"We are both fully trained first aiders and just acted as you would expect anyone to in a similar situation," he said.