Eric Mann - believed to be Greater Manchester's oldest ref - is now out of a coma in hospital
A footballer and a club manager have recalled the moment they saved a referee's life when he collapsed with a heart attack during a match. Liam Latham, 28, gave Eric Mann CPR on the pitch before Alex Walmsley used the defibrillator on him ahead of the arrival of paramedics. Alex, 33, told how he and his teammates 'chipped in' to buy the life-saving defib at the start of the season - it's carried to all games in the boot of a car.
Now - in an update after the M.E.N.'s story prompted a flood of well-wishes for him - his family has revealed he's awake and talking. A spokesman for the family said he was no longer in a coma and described his condition at Wythenshawe Hospital as stable.Great-grandfather Eric, a retired engineer and cleaner from Wythenshawe, is hugely respected as a 'grassroots legend' of the amateur football scene in Greater Manchester and the wider north west region.
Liam said: "The team were playing on a pitch about 200 yards away from where he was refereeing. Our game was interrupted when one of the players ran over to ask if anyone was first aid-trained. I ran over to the pitch and they had put him on his side and put a jacket on him. It was quite clear his heart had stopped.
Alex said of Eric: "He was non-responsive at that time, but was breathing. I went over to the car because I knew there wasn't a defibrillator close by. As I got back to Eric, Liam had started CPR. During that period Eric had stopped breathing and Liam had started CPR straight away, which saved his life. He did not think twice about it."
"It was about to charge up ready for another one but at that time, the ambulance arrived. It was both Liam and myself who gave him CPR - I took over from Liam. The ambulance's defibrillator took over and gave him another shock. We continued CPR until he was in the ambulance. Liam said Eric's family have been keeping him up to date with his progress. "I believe that his heart stopped three times on the way to surgery," he added. "The family are keeping me up to date with how he is and have said that he is due to move onto a general ward in the next day or two, which is great news.
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