An off-duty firefighter came to the aid of a man who had "stopped breathing" at the start of the St Patrick's Day Parade in London.
Station manager for Beckenham and Biggin Hill, Clinton Walsh was among other serving firefighters, retired members of the fire brigade and family members, ready for the celebrations on March 19, when suddenly he was faced with a life saving task.
"I was at the beginning of the parade getting ready to go with my colleagues and family members when my cousin's husband said that he felt unwell" said Mr Walsh.
"The next thing I remember is hearing my name being called and I saw Patrick sitting on a wall, he was gasping and his eyes were rolling back in his head.
"He had stopped breathing, so I immediately started doing CPR and then had to move him off the wall he was sitting on to carry on working on him.
"I had my arms around his chest and he then started breathing again but he had no idea what was going on. He had been unconscious and not breathing for a couple of minutes."
Mr Walsh stayed with Patrick McLoughlin until paramedics arrived on the scene.
"I cannot thank him enough for what he did"
Mr Walsh's cousin, Margaret McLoughlin, who was also at the parade, said: "Clinton saved my husband's life and I cannot thank him enough for what he did.
"Clinton was so calm while he was working on Patrick and he handled the whole situation so well.
"Thankfully we were in the right place at the right time. If we had been anywhere else and Clinton hadn’t been there, I don’t know what would have happened."
When paramedics arrived on the scene, Mr McLoughlin was checked over and taken to hospital.
He was discharged on the same day and is now recovering at home.
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