Shinty players help save collapsed referee's life

Two shinty players helped to save the life of a referee after he suffered a cardiac arrest during a game in the Highlands.

Steven Maclachlan collapsed early in the first half of Saturday's MacTavish Cup tie between Caberfeidh and Kinlochshiel in Strathpeffer.

Kinlochshiel captain Conor Cormack and team-mate Keith Macrae, who are both firefighters, used a defibrillator from Caberfeidh's clubhouse and CPR to resuscitate Mr Maclachlan.

The match official was taken by ambulance to hospital where he was said to be recovering well.

First aiders, other players and spectators also assisted in helping to make Mr Maclachlan comfortable and alerting emergency services.

Mr Cormack said: "Everyone couldn't do enough to help."

He added: "I have unfortunately been in a situation before where I have attended a cardiac arrest and it hadn't gone as well as I hoped.

"For Steven to come back to us after delivering two shocks and I don't know how many rounds of CPR was an absolute win."

Shinty's governing body, the Camanachd Association, has praised the actions of the two players.

It said: "Their decisive response underscores the importance of having accessible defibrillators and trained individuals in our sporting communities.

"While we know that many of our clubs have defibs on site, we will be contacting all clubs this week to reinforce their importance and to signpost how to get one."

The association has nominated Mr Cormack for a Royal Humane Society Resuscitation Award.

The defibrillator used in Strathpeffer was put in place by the charity Lucky2BHere.

In 2012, the charity sought to equip every shinty team in Scotland with a device.

It provides training on how to use defibrillators, as well as helping to distribute them to communities across Scotland.

Lucky2BHere said the weekend's incident had involved a "textbook" use of a defibrillator.

It said the use of the device within two minutes of Mr Maclachlan falling ill had helped save his life.