A TV EXTRA who worked on hospital drama Casualty says he owes his life to a quick-thinking first aider who came to his rescue when he had a cardiac arrest.

Alan Walker, 65, collapsed and his heart stopped while he shopped at a grocery shop in Heather Road near his home in St Julians, Newport.

But lucky for Mr Walker, Newport First Responder Pete Richards was returning from another emergency call to St Julians School, where he works as estates manager, when he was called to help.

Mr Richards, who was trained in life saving procedures by the Welsh Ambulance Service, used a defibrillator to restart Mr Walker’s heart and continued CPR until an ambulance arrived.

Mr Walker, who had no history of heart trouble, was rushed to the intensive care unit at the Royal Gwent Hospital before being transferred to Cardiff’s University Hospital of Wales.

There his heart was monitored and a small internal defibrillator was fitted to his heart and shock him in case he arrested again.

He said: “I was so lucky a First Responder was on hand and ready and able to save my life.

“I have been left in no doubt whatsoever without him being there I never would have made it which is a really scary thought.”

Mr Walker, who has previously appeared in the film Heartland alongside Sir Anthony Hopkins, is now urging more people to sign up as a volunteer for the service which helped save his life.

Mr Richards, who had never used a defibrillator on a patient before Mr Walker last September, was praised for his actions by paramedic Mike Finiak: “Pete did an absolutely superb job and if anyone needed proof of the value of the first responder scheme then this call is it.

By the time we arrived and without intervention Alan would have died. It is as simple as that.”

Anyone interested in becoming a First Responder can contact Tony Rossetti on 02920 932917.

Volunteers must be aged between 18 and 70, physically fit and hold a clean UK driving licence.