Exclusive:Sheffield United fans' brave effort to save Sunderland comrade a reminder that football is not life and death

When Tom Moxon and his party of Sheffield United-supporting friends and family began their journey to London for Saturday’s play-off final against Sunderland, they were hoping that the weekend ahead of them would be one to remember. It turned out to be; just not for the reasons they had expected.

Tommy Watson’s 95th-minute winner, after Eliezer Mayenda had cancelled out Tyrese Campbell’s opening goal for the Blades, sent the Black Cats to the Premier League and sentenced Blades fans to yet more pain under the Wembley arch. But football had already been placed into perspective for Tom and Co. as they made their way to the national stadium from Rickmansworth.

“We walked to the turnstiles at the Tube station and as we were putting the kids through, we heard a pretty deafening thud,” Tom remembered. A Sunderland fan on his way to the game had fallen face-down onto the tiled floor, with Tom noticing that he hadn’t put his hands out to try and break his fall. Then things changed quickly, his face turning grey, and Tom began CPR.

Tom’s friend Andrea Greensmith, travelling to the game with her husband Mick, remembered making a member of staff at the station aware of what was happening, and him coming back with a packet of wet wipes. “The gentleman was coming and going, and every so often there’d be a gasp,” she said.

A poignant experience at Wembley

The experience was particularly poignant given that the play-off final, and the other two played on the following two days, supported the British Heart Foundation’s ‘Every Minute Matters’ campaign, which is urging more people in the UK to learn how to do CPR. The final against Sunderland kicked off at 3.01pm to highlight the message, with a life CPR demonstration on a dummy at half-time.

Tom and Andrea’s party missed that as they queued for the toilet, but had already had a real-life experience just hours earlier. After swapping numbers with the Sunderland fan’s nephew, to get updates on his condition, the sad news filtered through around eight o’clock that evening that he had sadly passed away.

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“We don’t know if he made it to hospital or not,” admitted Andrea. “But he seemed stable when we left. His nephew mentioned that he hadn’t said he felt unwell, other than just before it happened when he said he felt a pain in either his knee or his leg. That was the only indicator, literally just before it happened.

“It’s so sad that they made the same journey down as us, with the intention of going to the match just like we did, and he never got to see the result and see his side get promoted. Just so sad.”

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“After making sure the kids were all right, I remember going to sit on my own on a bench and trying to calm down a bit,” Tom added. “We were gutted about the result, obviously, and if we weren’t upset enough, we then got the text message that evening. I went over and gave my son a big cuddle. He’s 15, so he was like: ‘Dad, get off!’

“When we were walking to Wembley, I remember saying to someone that I didn’t even care what the result was ... if he pulled through, then we’d won. But I’m not sure we even won the toss, either! When we found out the news, we were in BoxPark which was full of Blades fans. At least we’re still here to do it again next time. It was very poignant.”

“If I ever had to use it again, it would be too soon”

Tom learned CPR and had first-aid training in his time as a site manager, and had to use it once before. “It was a horrible situation. I always said if I ever had to use it again, it'd be too soon. I never expected I'd have to. I'm just so glad we were there and we knew what to do.

“We could have just thought he'd fallen over, walked off and thought nothing more about it. But what everyone did, everyone pulling together, was amazing. We've had loads of support. A friend who's a nurse said there's only a 50 per cent chance of success in a hospital and anywhere else, it drops to 10. So the odds were against us. But I'm so proud we gave him the best chance. I'm not blowing our own trumpet but if it wasn't us, who would have done it?”

More than 30,000 people every year suffer cardiac arrest out of hospital in the UK, with statistics showing that fewer than one in 10 survive - “Often,” according to the BHF, “because those around them don’t have the confidence to perform CPR.”

“I’ve been unfortunate enough to have to do this twice now,” said Tom. “And what I'd say is that you are better off knowing it and not having to use it. Even a basic knowledge can go so far in a situation like that. It could be the difference between life and death. What started as such a lovely day turned into a bit of a nightmare ... but I know we couldn't have done any more.”

For more information on the Every Minute Matters campaign, or to learn more about CPR, visit the British Heart Foundation’s website at www.bhf.org.uk.