A Pembrokeshire County Council employee featured in a national campaign on Friday (October 16) to mark Restart a Heart Day.

Angharad Hodgson from Martletwy - who works for Social Care in the Authority’s Business Unit – is also a Community First Responder with the Welsh Ambulance Service and earlier this year found herself at the centre of a life and death drama.

She and her firefighter partner, Steve Bradfield from Narberth, were travelling to meet friends at Barafundle beach when they took a wrong turn in their car.

The error probably saved the life of keen amateur triathlete Steven Landry.

The couple happened across Steven, 51 from Saundersfoot, who had just suffered a cardiac arrest while on a 80 km ride with his brother-in-law.

Angharad and Steve – also a trained medical responder – always travel with a defibrillator and they were able to step-in with their lifesaving kit.

Angharad, 23, recalled: “We put the pad on his chest and after 30 manual chest compressions, the defibrillator told us we could shock him.”

“We continued CPR and after two defibrillator shocks, he came back to us, but his breathing was very sticky so we continued CPR until the air and land ambulances arrived to take over.”

Steven was taken by road to Swansea’s Morriston Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery.

Now fortunately recovering, Steven said: “I can’t thank my brother-in-law Chris, Angharad, Steve, the air ambulance crew and the paramedics enough, along with the doctors and surgeons at Morriston. They were all amazing.

“I realise everything went my way that day, and for those few houckiest man alive. Having these trained people in our communities to support emergency medical services is absolutely vital.

“Community First Responders like Angharad, CPR training and Public Access Defibrillators really do save lives and are to be respected.”

Angharad has been a Community First Responder since April 2019 and was inspired to make that brave step by another incident back in 2018.

She said: “I was driving home from shopping along the A40 in Carmarthen when I came across a terrible car accident on the opposite carriageway.

“I pulled my car over and crossed the road to try and assist without any thought process really.

“Seeing the work of the paramedics on scene really spurred me on to become a Community First Responder.

“I’d like to thank Tony Wall who is my CFR Co-ordinator for being so supportive and giving so much of his time to fundraise for life saving equipment such as defibrillators in local communities.”

Restart a Heart Day is a national initiative run by the Resuscitation Council UK, British Heart Foundation, St John Ambulance and the ambulance services across the UK to promote education around Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).

Anyone interested in becoming a Community First responder with the Welsh Ambulance Service should email: [email protected]