Most important result from last night

[PeterWithesShin]

Thought this deserved its own thread rather than getting lost in the post-match debates. Well done Heidi and all medical staff

If it wasn't for the quick thinking and heroic actions of Heidi Elliott, an Aston Villa fan may have lost his life on Thursday night.

The trainee paramedic, who is a season ticket holder in the Holte End, jumped over several rows of seats in front of her to save someone's life on the stroke of half-time in Villa's Europa Conference League semi-final first leg against Olympiacos.

After noticing the 24-year-old was in cardiac arrest, Heidi delivered CPR as paramedics rushed to the incident and called for fans to vacate the L2 block in the lower Holte. The public announcer told fans, "supporters must clear Holte End lower L2 immediately."

The power of social media managed to identify Heidi, who spoke to BBC WM radio earlier this morning about the incident.

"I’m okay, a bit overwhelmed but all good,” she said. “I’m a season ticket holder with my dad. We did the usual, went for dinner and then made our way to the ground and watched the first half. Villa scored late on in the first half.

"It seemed like any other game up until half-time really. About four or five rows in front of us there was a commotion, with a large group of people waving trying to get the attention of stewards. That caught my eye and when I looked over I saw the young lad on the floor, bless him.

"He didn’t look well and I could tell that something was wrong. I looked where the paramedics where but we didn’t have their attention yet. That’s why I thought I can’t just stand there at that point and I had to go down and help.

"I’m doing my paramedic degree, so I said I could help and let me get near him. There was a lot of people trying to offer their assistance as well. It worried me that there was a lack of recognition that he was in cardiac arrest.

"It’s about looking at the patient, are they responding to you, checking if they are breathing, checking for a pulse. If both are absent then they are in cardiac arrest and it’s imperative that CPR is started as soon as possible. I work for East Midlands ambulance service, they do courses through the British Heart foundation, so I’d encourage anyone to do that.

"When I got to him he was already in cardiac arrest. Immediately I started CPR. There were a few fans around encouraging me to get him in the recovery position, but I recognised that it wasn’t necessary at the time. It was more important that we got the CPR started. I knew the paramedics would be on scene to start a defibrillator. To start with that CPR is really important. The defibrillator came and administered shocks to the patient and then the paramedics took over.

"When the professionals get there as such, continuous chest compressions was really important. Also in the area we were in the rescue press would have been difficult to deliver. It was more important just to do the CPR, it is the most important part of it.

"I think the main thing that I’d push from this whole experience is to encourage everyone to look at the British Heart Foundation. If people haven’t had the training, it’s a life-saving skill and you never know when you’ll need to use it."

Shortly after Heidi performed CPR and the patient was shocked, an ambulance backed up between the Holte End and the Doug Ellis Stand to take him to hospital. His father posted on social media: "He is in hospital but sitting up and well waiting tests. Thank you to the amazing staff and supporters and emergency services who saved his life."

As medics walked down the stairs with the patient, both Villa and Olympiacos fans from all sides of the stadium clapped. The public announcer then said: "We'd like to thank the medical staff for their prompt assistance this evening."

[Neil Hawkes]

Excellent - thanks for sharing.

[Somniloquism]

Good to hear and quick actions from Heidi.

[Behind Bluenose Lines]

Great news: definitely puts things in perspective!

[PeterWithesShin]

[Percy McCarthy]

Great stuff.

[Monty]

Heidi Elliot, what a hero.

[wozwebs]

An absolute Villa Angel - well done Heidi

[Small Rodent]

Her words are so eloquent and educational whilst letting the story of the events unfold.

Fantastic work from her helping save someone’s life.

[PeterWithesShin]

I've often thought some basic training should be compulsory at schools etc, i've left it as a long link so as folks can see what it is and may want to try it.

https://www.bhf.org.uk/how-you-can-help/how-to-save-a-life/how-to-do-cpr/learn-cpr-in-15-minutes

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Brilliant! Heidi Elliot obviously knows her stuff. Whether she likes it or not she is a hero. She should be very proud of her training and actions. The lad sitting up in bed moaning about the result would fit very well in here. Get well soon, fella.

[FailsworthVillan]

The club should ensure she never has to pay for a season ticket ever again.

[kippaxvilla2]

The club should ensure she never has to pay for a season ticket ever again.

But on the basis she pays the £1500 for the Terrace View.

[eamonn]

Heidi, great name, great heroine.

[Risso]

Glad the young fella is OK, and well done to Heidi. Somebody on Twitter said there was a second similar incident in the North, did anybody hear anything about that?