Father saved by defibrillator backs Daily Express campaign

EXCLUSIVE: A father of two whose life was saved by a defibrillator has backed a Daily Express campaign to strengthen the national network of devices.

Tony Comber, 59, was on an evening jog with his running club when his heart stopped suddenly.

His friends heard a bang as his head hit the pavement and raced over to save his life.

Tony said: "I was talking to someone and all of a sudden just collapsed. I hit my head on thecurb and fractured my skull. I'd had a cardiac arrest."

Engineer Tony, of Maxey, Cambridgeshire, was a keen runner and in good health

He even completed the London marathon a few months earlier.

But he had suffered from heart disease for 14 years and survived a previous heart attack.

The problem was likely inherited - his father and grandfather both died of heart attacks. Luckily, several medics were among the runners that night in February 2022 including a firefighter, a retired rheumatologist and an orthopedic surgeon who was in his hospital's crash team.

They led CPR efforts while three runners were dispatched to retrieve defibrillators from a nearby college, swimming pool and recreation ground.

Tony said: "They were back in three minutes and a defibrillator was applied to me. Fortunately, I came back and my heart started beating after the first shock."

He woke up three days later in hospital, where he had a stent fitted in an artery that had become blocked.

Now he is back to good health and recently ran the Cambridge half marathon. Tony shared his harrowing story in support of our Complete The Circuit crusade, backed by the British Heart Foundation.

The campaign is asking the public to help get more defibrillators registered on The Circuit, which is the UK's national network used to direct 999 callers to the nearest device.

Tony, his wife Fiona and daughters Alice, 18, and Emily 14, have all since completed CPR training.

He added: "I've enjoyed Christmases and holidays that I might not have had with my family. It's really important to get this message out there.

Lucky "Two things saved my life that day - someone performed CPR straight away and that defibrillator got to me so quickly.