Arndale guards praised for saving man's life

Security guards at Eastbourne's Arndale Centre have been praised for helping to save the life of a shopper who collapsed.
Security staff at The Arndale Centre, Eastbourne (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-160224-195952008Security staff at The Arndale Centre, Eastbourne (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-160224-195952008
Security staff at The Arndale Centre, Eastbourne (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-160224-195952008

Ambulance staff say their quick thinking and actions were vital and the man is now recovering in hospital although he is seriously ill.

The drama unfolded on Saturday afternoon when cleaning supervisor Chris Sinclair, who has worked at the centre for 17 years, was told a man had collapsed in one of the cubicles.

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Duty security manager Dave Parfitt, 35, guards Steve Fulbrook, 29, Mark Billington, 45, and Rob Braisby, 36, a Sussex Business Warden, rushed to the scene. A door had to be ripped off to get the man out so Steve could begin CPR.

An ambulance was called and the man was taken to the DGH.

A Secamb spokesperson praised the mens’ actions.

“We would like to thank everyone who helped at the scene prior to our arrival in order to give the man the best chance of survival. Their quick thinking and actions were vital.”

Mark said, “There is no time to think about anything. You just have to act quickly and get on with it.”

Centre manager Bill Plumridge said, “Our security team is trained to deal with emergency situations like this, but that doesn’t get away from the fact they do a fantastic job in very stressful situations that require them to think, and act, very quickly.

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“Our thoughts now are with the gentleman who collapsed and we hope he makes a full recovery.”

Mark said, “There is no time to think about anything. You just have to act quickly and get on with it.

“We had called for the defibrillator and that told us that no shock was required but to carry on with the CPR so that’s what we did.”

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