Drunk...? No Dying (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Drunk...? No Dying

PC Duncan Picture Ref: 99151-24SWINDON...AND PROUD OF IT: A POLICEMAN saved the life of a man thrown out of a nightclub because bouncers thought he was drunk.

PC Conway Duncan, who had only been with Swindon police for six months, was flagged down by a passer-by who found the man not breathing and with no pulse outside the club.

PC Duncan had to perform resuscitation on the man for between 15 and 20 minutes until an ambulance arrived.

The man, who had a heart problem, later made a full recovery at the Great Western Hospital.

"We were patrolling in the evening and we were flagged down," said PC Duncan.

"He had been thrown out of the club because the door staff thought it was drunk. He had actually stopped breathing and had no pulse.

"We resuscitated him for quite a while until the ambulance arrived. It was a good 15-20 minutes.

"It was quite nerve-wracking but once I got into it my main concern was keeping him alive.

"Your training takes over and you don't think much about it.

"Afterwards you think 'that was a bit close'."

PC Duncan, 34, is originally from South Africa where he was a policeman.

He moved to England two-and-a-half years ago but had to retrain and only started as an officer in April last year, six months before the incident.

Yesterday he was given a certificate of merit which recognised that his actions 'undoubtedly contributed to the saving of a man's life'.

Police have not released the name of the man who was taken to hospital, or the nightclub involved.

Chief Superintendent Andy Tatam, Divisional Commander for Swindon, praised his work.

"The officer dealing with this particular job had only a few months police service at the time," he said. "He was able to recognise the seriousness of what he was faced with, take immediate life-saving action and assist in the resuscitation pending the arrival of the ambulance crew."

Chief Supt Tatam handed out several other certificates and letters of acknowledgement at a special ceremony at the new police headquarters at Gablecross.

"All these awards are for slightly different types of job," he said.

"We are really proud of all the officers that have received both the certificates and letters and for the really high quality of service they provided on our behalf.

"When we talk about reducing crime and increasing the amount of crime we detect, it is all too easy to overlook the individual incidents that make up that performance."

Chief Supt Tatam intends to hold two more ceremonies over the next two weeks to reward other officers for their work on other incidents.

Isabel Field