THE heroics of a mother and son who stepped in to save the life of a man who had collapsed on a train have been recognised.

Rose Fitzpatrick, 49, firefighter son William Fitzpatrick-Hills, 22, and another person who wished to remain anonymous performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and CPR on the man as the locomotive they were on pulled in to their home town of Grange in August last year.

The patient, who had suffered a heart attack, was taken to hospital, where he underwent a bypass and survived.

Ms Fitzpatrick and Mr Fitzpatrick-Hills have now been recognised with resuscitation certificates from the Royal Humane Society for their efforts. The society is the premier national body for honouring bravery in the saving of human life.

Andrew Chapman, secretary of the society, said: “What an end to a quiet summer’s evening train journey.

“One minute they were preparing to get off the train at their home station, and the next they were fighting a life-and-death battle to save a dying man.

“Put simply, though, they were the right people in the right place at the right time.

“They answered the call for help immediately, assessed the situation, knew what was needed and immediately began administering CPR.

“And what a superb job they did.”

The man whose life they saved is hoping to meet up with the pair once Covid restrictions allow.

Speaking at the time of the incident, Ms Fitzpatrick said more people should have first aid skills.

“Everyone should really,” she said.

“It’s a good skill to have. You could save someone’s life.

“If someone collapses and they are having a heart attack and you have got there straight away, they have a much higher chance of living.”