Returning to thank the Wharf lifesavers

The drama happened on a Monday morning in March and this week, James returned to Canary Wharf to thank the paramedics who saved his life.

He said: "I never could have ant-icipated that I would have had a cardiac arrest at 27 - I was an active, relatively healthy person and it came out of the blue.

"Thanks to the quick reactions of my work colleagues, I was kept alive until the ambulance staff could arrive on the scene.

"I'm forever indebted to my work colleagues for what they did, as well as to the ambulance staff."

James said he can't remember anything of that morning but it was a typical Monday - he arrived at work, checked his emails and then went to a meeting.

Moments later he collapsed in his chair.

"A couple of colleagues helped me," he said. "One was trained in CPR a number of years ago and she sprang into action. Another knew first aid and had the emergency services on the phone giving advice."

Within minutes, a motorcycle paramedic, fast response car paramedic, a cycle paramedic and an ambulance crew arrived.

They gave James two shocks with a defibrillator and his heartbeat returned.

He was taken to hospital and discharged a few weeks later after doctors had fitted him with a cardioverter defibrillator.

The defribillator will restart his heart in the small chance such an incident happened again.

James, now 28, has since made a full recovery and moved to a new job in London Bridge, but he has made a point of keeping in touch with the colleagues he owes his life to.

He said: "I've seen both of them a couple of times since and it's a fantastic thing that they were able to help me. I've heard there's been an uptake of people taking on CPR training in that firm and there's also been some defibrillators put in the building."

James is now encouraging more firms in the area to train their staff and install life-saving equipment.

"The doctor said it was a million to one electrical malfunction that can affect a number of people - 15 per cent have the chance of this happening but it only happens to a small amount of them," he said.

"The more businesses that realise this can happen more often than they think - and to people of any age - and then react to that, the better."

Speaking about the reunion with the paramedics, James said: "Not being able to remember what happened that day, it was fantastic to meet up with all the ambulance staff that were involved in person - I can't speak highly enough of them.

"They do an amazing job and they are all absolute heroes in my book.

"I left hospital less than a month later and returned to my life without any real lasting consequences. I can only attribute that to my colleagues being able to provide CPR and to the ambulance staff for everything they did."

London Ambulance Service figures show that over 21 per cent of people treated by paramedics survive, compared to half that amount four years ago.

Go to londonambulance.nhs.uk for more information on lifesaving courses.