Barry Island café customers unite to save man's life during cardiac arrest

Peter Gardner, 90, and his wife Christina, 70, from Marshfields in Cardiff, chose to take a walk along the front in Barry Island on January 3, showing Mrs Gardner’s sister who was visiting from London the sights and sounds of Whitmore Bay.

On the bitterly cold day, the trio decided to visit Marcos – a staple for any visit to the Island. Upon approach to the popular café, Mr Gardner began to feel unwell before collapsing into a chair and rolling onto the floor. His wife knew immediately that the emergency services needed to be alerted, due to his current heart condition.

Mr Gardner’s sister-in-law immediately jumped into action alongside a first aider, doctor and nurse who all happened to be visiting the café at the same time.

The first aider administers life saving CPR to Mr Gardiner while onlookers and customers at the café collected their own coats and scarves to help keep him as warm as they possibly could during a bitter day on the seafront.

In the chaos of the moment, the medical professionals who helped save a life on their day off remained remarkably calm, liaising with each other and the ambulance crews to deliver the best care they could with the provisions they had.

It wasn’t long before Mr Gardner was whisked away to hospital and given further attention, but the family want to find those who helped save his life.

In the moment, they didn’t have chance to learn the names of those administering the vital care needed to get Mr Gardner to hospital and on his way to recovery. Mrs Gardner also encourages people to not be afraid to help others in these situations – especially when a defibrillator is involved.

She told the Pulse Media: “What I learned was that nobody should be afraid to use a defib because they put it on him and pressed the button and it told them no action was required, so it wouldn’t shock him

“There’s nothing bad you can do. You can only save a life, never kill someone with one.”

A stint in hospital and scans revealed that Mr Gardiner had several broken ribs because of CPR, but his wife says that this is a small cost in comparison to losing someone entirely.

“We nearly both died that day,” Mrs Gardner said, “Him from cardiac arrest and shock for myself.”

Those who helped save Mr Gardner’s life are encouraged to come forward, so this family can express their gratitude