Kim from Asda St Leonards-on-Sea helps to save customer's life after heart attack

Cleaning colleague Kim Bristow administered CPR in the car park of our St Leonards-on-Sea store to save the life of a customer who'd had a heart attack and had stopped breathing.

Kim was tidying the car park when a lady ran towards her shouting for help as a man had collapsed in his car.

When she got to the gentleman, who's in his 50s, he was blue and not breathing and his distraught wife was on the phone to the ambulance service.

Thirty-four-year-old Kim, who has first aid knowledge after spending 13 years working in the care sector before joining Asda two years ago, shouted for a colleague to get a defibrillator while she and his wife lifted him out of the car and onto the ground.

Kim said: "The man was unconscious in the car and still strapped into his seatbelt. He wasn't breathing and was blue.

"I looked up and couldn't see any muscly men in sight, so his wife and I picked him up and got him out of the car ourselves and laid him on the ground.

"The lady put the phone down on the 999 call and started to do CPR and then I asked her if she wanted me to take over as I could tell that she was in a bit of shock. I did so until the ambulance arrived. It only took four minutes, but it felt a lot longer.

"While I was doing the chest compressions I was talking to the gentleman in the hope that he would just wake up. He started to come round, but we lost him again and then the ambulance crew arrived and I stepped out of the way."

The paramedics continued with CPR, got the man breathing eventually and stabilised before being taken to nearby Conquest Hospital. He's now on the road to recovery.

Kim said: "I'm very proud of what I did. The ambulance crew said to my manager that if I hadn't have done what I did the gentleman would not be here today.

"The incident is all a blur to be honest, it was very quick and instinct and adrenalin just kicked in. I just got on with it.

"It's the first time that I'd ever had to do CPR. I've dealt with cuts and grazes with residents falling over things like that but I'd nor done chest compressions.

"Everyone was saying to me to go home afterwards, but I continued for the rest of my shift and went back to cleaning up the car park."

Kim, who lives with partner Gavin Edwards and children, Kye who's 15, and Maisy, who's nine, has been nominated for an Asda service superstar award for her actions.

Adam Caney, the store's customer trading manager, said everybody in the store was so proud of Kim.

He said: "Kim was fantastic on the day, not thinking twice about stepping in and acting quickly.

"The ambulance crew and the gentleman's wife both told me that without Kim helping the man would have sadly passed away."

The store's community champion Wendy Border said: "Kim was so calm and fearless, helping two people she didn't even know. She's always on hand to help anyone that asks and nothing is ever too much trouble for her. I am proud to work with and be friends with such a lovely person."