A PATIENT whose life was saved by paramedics has been given a framed ‘lucky penny’ by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service crew.

Stephen Walker, 70, from Selby, was playing walking football with his friends at Goole Leisure Centre when he collapsed in cardiac arrest earlier this year.

Paramedics Liz Cundy and Martin Pringle and Student Paramedic Angie Clayton, who are based in Goole, used CPR and a defibrillator to resuscitate Stephen before taking him to hospital.

Mr Walker had a stent fitted, made a recovery and was discharged four days later.

The paramedics realised that while Mr Walker was in the ambulance, some money fell out of his pocket. They returned most of it to him, but while cleaning the vehicle ready for the next patient, they found a single penny.

Angie framed it and presented the ‘lucky penny’ to Stephen when he was reunited with his life-savers on July 7.

She said: "When I found Stephen’s leftover penny in the ambulance, I made sure I kept it the right way up for luck. It was great to hear that Stephen had made a fantastic recovery and as luck was obviously on his side that day, I decided to frame the lucky penny as a gift."

Mr Walker, who lives in Brayton, attended the reunion with his family, who were all pleased to be able to thank the ambulance staff in person.

The grandfather-of-four-said: "I’ve been discharged by my consultant who is really happy with my progress; we can’t thank the ambulance service enough for what they did that day."

Mr Walker presented Liz, Angie and Martin with their Yorkshire Ambulance Service Divisional Commander’s Certificates in recognition of their life-saving efforts that day.

Andy Pippin, from the Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said: "This is another great example of how our staff work tirelessly to improve pre-hospital care and have a positive impact on the lives of others. What Liz, Martin and Angie were able to do for Stephen that day is the reason we are all so proud to work for the ambulance service."