Pair save man's life after he fell into Oxfordshire town canal

 Two men have spoken of the importance of knowing CPR after they saved a man's life who had fallen into the canal in an Oxfordshire town. 

Luke Hardy and Sam Townsend spotted a man being pulled into the canal, near Spiceball Park in Banbury, after getting caught by one of the ropes mooring his canal boat. 

The pair rushed to the man's aid, pulling him out of the water and giving him CPR. 

Luke said: “We looked to see if there was anyone else around because I hadn't done CPR on a human being before. It was a completely different experience from training. 

“When we got him out he was really blue and not breathing. I put him in the recovery position because I thought that would help get the water out, but that didn't happen so I started CPR. 

 “Probably about 40-50 seconds after, a bit of water came out so we decided to put him in the recovery position and he started breathing. But his breathing was only about once every seven seconds. 

“He wasn't really conscious, he was breathing but it was very difficult for him. Probably about one minute later, the fire response team arrived and were really quick. I let them take over at that point.”

He added: “I've done CPR training for work, so when I used to work in an office I would volunteer to be the first aider, so I went on those courses. 

“I was also in the Army Reserves for quite a while so I did a lot of medical training for that. 

“But it has been a while since I did the training, but it's a massive difference doing it in person. It's definitely given me the confidence to make sure I can do it again 

“It's just by luck we were there in that moment. It's just so important for people to know CPR. We both have young children so it's just such an important thing to have in the background of your knowledge as you never know when you're going to need it.”

In a Facebook post, Luke's mum Cherie Buchanan said: “My amazing son and his friend saved a man’s life this morning. You may have witnessed this, it was in the canal right next to The Light. 

“He has been trained in CPR - one of the best life skills to have. I’m so proud of them both.”

There has been an outpouring of positive comments on social media praising the pair's work and the importance of knowing CPR. 

Thames Valley Police and Thames Valley Air Ambulance have been contacted for more information.