Off-duty police officers and members of the public who helped save cyclist's life near Warwick recognised with commendations

On June 8, 2025, a father-of-one collapsed and was having a cardiac arrest in Hampton Lucy, 40 miles into a 45-mile ride with his cycling club.

Retired nurse Tracey Rutter was already on scene giving first aid along with a cycle club member, Fiona Jolly.

After seeing the commotion, PCs Sam Long and Faye Gardner, who were on their way home from the Two Castles Run, stopped to help.

The group of four continued to give aid until the ambulance arrived – with paramedics using a defibrillator and the man regaining consciousness.

He was taken to hospital where, with his wife and 15-year-old daughter by his side, he recovered.

A spokesperson from Warwickshire Police said: “The doctor told us that if the two residents and our two officers hadn’t have done what they did on that day, the man wouldn’t be with us.

“Moments like that remind us how strong our communities are when people step forward to help each other and we were really happy to be able to recognise the exceptional actions of each of those four with a Chief Constable’s commendation at a recent event.”

Speaking about the incident in 2025, Faye said: “I don’t know if it’s the nature of the job, but we didn’t think twice about stopping.

“I’d just completed the race, and Sam had come along to support me, so we were driving home when we saw a load of cyclists and people in the road.

“We jumped straight out the car, ran up to the crowd and offered to take over CPR until paramedics arrived.

“They used the defibrillator to shock the man’s heart into rhythm and Sam did compressions until he started breathing on his own. By the time he left, he was up and talking to paramedics, which was amazing.

“It was a crazy half an hour, but we’re glad we could help and to be completely honest, I’m prouder of that than I am of finishing the race!”