A WIDOWER has told how he felt ‘absolutely useless’ when his York wife suffered a suspected heart attack - because he had no idea how to perform CPR.

Steve Harris said carers were fortunately on hand, who knew how to carry out cardiopulmonary resuscitation on his wife Janine, and then paramedics took over in a 45 minute, but ultimately vain, battle to save her life.

But he said that after hearing how he had struggled to assist Janine, his son-in-law Benjamin Churchill had offered to organise free CPR training sessions.

He said Benjamin, a former army medic who now runs a business providing CPR lessons, wanted to ensure Steve and others would know what to do in future if they came across someone suffering heart failure.

Steve, whose wife suffered from motor neurone disease, was speaking before her funeral today. He said that after finding her not breathing at their home in Derwenthorpe, he had started trying to perform CPR before her three carers took over, two of whom had only recently taken part in an-depth CPR course.

“With the help of the ambulance services, Janine’s heart was started again after nearly 45 minutes, with one ambulance crew member telling the carers that it was their effort before crews arrived that gave Janine a fighting chance,” he said.

“I was totally useless, unable to do the right thing, panicking and crying. If on my own, my wife would have died there and then.”

He said Benjamin, who was married to his and Janine’s daughter Chantelle and was a British armed forces medic in Iraq in 2008 and Afghanistan in 2010, had agreed to give three one hour CPR training sessions at the HQ of Yormed Ambulance Service in Little Hallfield Rd, York on the morning of May 6.

Ashley Mason, chief of operations at Yormed, had offered the room free of charge, he said, adding: “I am asking anyone, from a bus driver to a bricklayer, or just a mum or dad, to come down and learn just the basics of CPR- and hope they will never need it.”

He said people could book a place by emailing him at anytimetravel@hotmail.com, although individuals could just turn up on the day and wouldn’t be turned away.