A first responder brought a Brampton man back to life after shocking his heart six times.

In an adrenalin-fuelled, life-saving procedure, 23-year-old Jamie Stott performed hundreds of chest compressions – pumping Jimmy Vincent’s chest so hard he cracked the man’s ribs.

After weeks of recovery, Jimmy has revealed how, were it not for Jamie, the only first responder in Brampton, he would not be alive today.

Now Jamie is calling on more people to volunteer as first responders, as Cumbria is desperately in need of them – in the whole area of Carlisle and Brampton, there are is only Jamie and one other.

Jamie and Jimmy are now firm friends and, later this month, will attend the North West Ambulance Service’s Lifesaver’s ball in Preston.

Jimmy was keen to meet Jamie to find out what happened, because he can’t remember anything.

He also wanted to thank him for saving his life. “I do feel lucky,” Jimmy admitted. “I couldn’t believe it when I first got told.”

At 6.30am on Tuesday, March 1, Jamie was woken by an emergency call saying a man with a history of angina had dialled 999 with chest pains.

He raced to the other side of Brampton, where Jimmy lived, and within three minutes was with him in the living room.

“He was not in the best shape. He was slumped over in the chair,” Jamie recalled.

“He was a pale yellow colour and was doing what we call anginal breathing, which is a sign they’ve gone into cardiac arrest in the last few minutes.”

Jamie rang the ambulance back to let them know.

Cardiac arrests are different to heart attacks, in that during a cardiac arrest the heart stops pumping blood around the body and “flutters like a jelly”, Jamie said.

A heart attack is more like a plumbing problem, where the supply of blood to the heart is blocked, usually by a blood clot.

With his defibrillator ready, Jamie put his training into action. “It was quite brutal really. I had to shave part of his chest where you put the pads on because you need good contact,” he said.

He shocked Jimmy and then started CPR. In total he gave him six electric shocks and performed hundreds of chest compressions interspersed with breaths.

“Jimmy started breathing again, which was the biggest relief I have ever had.

“The colour came back, he went very red,” said Jamie, who made sure he kept breathing until the ambulance arrived about 25 minutes later.

“I was shattered afterwards. Exciting is not the right world – it’s not something you enjoy doing but certainly your adrenaline does go.”

With a rise in defibrillators around the county, Jamie stressed that there is no special training required.

“The only way you can hurt someone with a defibrillator is if you throw it at someone,” he said. “People shouldn’t be afraid to try.”

Jimmy, who suffered a heart attack 31 years ago, spent two weeks in the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle before being transferred to Newcastle’s Freemans Hospital where surgeons fitted him with a pacemaker and defibrillator.

He has now made a full recovery but is taking life slower, with his wife, Gwen.

Those interested in becoming a first responder should be over the age of 18, physically able and have a driving licence.

Those who work can also find time to fit it in, as Jamie himself works as a support worker for Cumbria County Council and as a phlebotomist taking blood at the city hospital.