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Trent Bridge first aider 'gave me back my life'

Owen ShiptonEast Midlands
BBC David Tomlinson and Hayley Spencer meet at Trent Bridge Cricket Ground. David is wearing a red t-shirt and cap. He has a moustache and wears a monocle. Hayley wears a green high-visibility vest over a white shirt. She is smiling and holding her hands up to David's face.BBC
David Tomlinson says he has "inherited a daughter" in the first aider who treated him

A cricket fan has returned to the ground where he suffered a near fatal cardiac arrest to thank the first aider who saved his life.

David Tomlinson, 61, from Nottingham, was queuing at Trent Bridge to watch Trent Rockets take on Northern Superchargers in The Hundred on 10 August 2025 when he collapsed.

First aider Hayley Spencer immediately started CPR on David before his heart was restarted with a defibrillator by paramedics at the scene.

Exactly a year on, David returned to the Nottinghamshire cricket ground during a 157-mile fundraising walk for the British Heart Foundation.

David Tomlinson smiles and looks into the camera. He is wearing a red cap and a red t-shirt. He has a monocle and a grey moustache. In the background is one of the stands at Trent Bridge Cricket Ground and some other spectators
The last thing David remembers before waking up in hospital is feeling faint at the ticket barrier

"When you put somebody's life in your hands or more to the point when you put your life in somebody else's hands, it's something special," David said.

David's heart was restarted another two times, once in the ambulance and again as he arrived at Nottingham City Hospital.

He needed a triple bypass and has since been fitted with an ICD (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator) device, which uses electrical pulses to make his heart beat normally.

David stands in the middle of a ground of first aiders and paramedics. To David's right is Hayley, wearing a green high-visibility jacket and a green tie. Three paramedics in green uniforms are also standing with David. They all stand in front of one of the stands at Trent Bridge Cricket Ground.
David met more of the team who helped to save his life on his visit to Trent Bridge

David said he had counted 176 people who cared for him at the ground and in the NHS and is determined to thank them.

"The team here and the paramedics here have given me back my life and I'm honour-bound to do something with it," he said.

Supplied David stands in front of a canal. He is wearing a rucksack and reading a book. The title of the book is "The Grand Union Canal Walk"Supplied
David's route to London takes him along the Grand Union Canal and the Regent's Canal

David is walking from Birmingham to London to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.

He started at the West Midlands offices of QA, the technology training company he works for, on Monday and is due to finish at its London headquarters on 21 August.

David admits he is feeling "some trepidation" but is determined to finish.

"Having your life saved by somebody gives you a sense of not just a responsibility to them but, more widely, a responsibility to live a good life because she's given you it back," he said.

David and Hayley look into the camera. A stand and part of the pitch at Trent Bridge can be seen in the background.
Hayley says David is "incredible" for taking on the fundraising walk

"I think he's slightly crazy," said Hayley.

"He's determined and it just shows you, no matter what, even if you've died and had a bypass, you can still do something."

She said saving David was "an honour and a privilege" and she was "so proud of him".

"I'm so grateful I was there and thankful that he made it to the gate before he died and I had the opportunity to bring him back," Hayley added.

David said he had already reached his fundraising target of £2,000 and hoped to highlight the importance of learning CPR to the people he meets on the walk.

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