Three members of a Shrewsbury Walking Football team have received a national award for saving the life of a fellow player using their first aid training.
Norman Pryce, David Walker and Mick Lewis have been awarded the Resuscitation Certificate from the Royal Humane Society in recognition of their actions.
When fellow player Ray Moreland looked to be getting into difficulty during a break in a game last November, first aiders Norman and David, assisted by Mick, used their training to start CPR when it was believed that Ray had stopped breathing. After 10 minutes, Ray began to breathe again just as the ambulance crew arrived.
The three men were praised by medical staff at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital for their outstanding efforts to save their fellow player’s life.
The football club will be holding a presentation awards ceremony for the three men on Thursday 27 July at the Abbey pub on Monkmoor Road.
Councillor Kevin Pardy, Chairman of Shrewsbury Town Council’s Recreation & Leisure Committee, said: “We are delighted that members of the Shrewsbury Walking Football Club are to be presented with this prestigious award. The Club has been playing from our Monkmoor Recreation Ground since 2013 and Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin should be commended for setting up the club and making sure that members are adequately trained to support each other.”
Ray Moreland is continuing to recover well from this scare and acknowledges the quick reactions of his fellow players that helped to save his life.
Shrewsbury Walking Football Club received a Silver award in the Community category of this year’s Mayor’s Awards ceremony in recognition of their contribution to ensuring that their players keep active and enjoy the social aspects of a team sport without having to sprint the length of a football pitch.
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