Two off-duty police officers heartbreakingly fought to save a man's life after he collapsed at a pub in Earley.

PC Mark Hutchinson and Inspector Andy Lewis had gone to the Seven Red Roses pub in Earley on October 13 last year and were waiting for the football to start when they heard a commotion upstairs in the pub office. A man had sadly collapsed.

They rushed to the scene and found the gentleman was unresponsive but still breathing. They put him in the recovery position and called for an ambulance but while they waited for the ambulance to arrive the man stopped breathing.

They immediately began the grueling process of administering cardiac pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) which in the end they continued for 30 minutes. In the mean time a defibrillator was brought to the scene and in addition to the CPR the man was shocked with that.

When an ambulance arrived, the man was taken to hospital where he underwent emergency treatment but sadly died a few hours after being admitted.

The bravery of the two police officers who stepped in to help has now been commended.

The pair have been awarded Royal Humane Society Resuscitation Certificates for restoring his breathing at the pub and giving him the best possible chance of survival.

Praising them, Andrew Chapman, Secretary of the Society said: “They did everything humanly possible to save him. CPR is an exhausting process but they kept it up for 30 minutes, along with also using the defibrillator.

“No-one could have done more. Their actions also meant that the man’s son was able to get to the hospital in time to be with his father when he died. Although the incident had a sad ending the two officers richly deserve the awards they are to receive.”

The roots of the Royal Humane Society stretch back more than two centuries. It is the premier national body for honouring bravery in the saving of human life.

It was founded in 1774 by two of the day's eminent medical men, William Hawes and Thomas Cogan. Their primary motive was to promote techniques of resuscitation.

However, as it emerged that numerous people were prepared to put their own lives at risk to save others, the awards scheme evolved, and today a variety of awards are made depending on the bravery involved.

The Society also awards non health care professionals who perform a successful resuscitation. Since it was set up the Society has considered over 87,000 cases and made over 200,000 awards. The Society is a registered charity which receives no public funding and is dependent on voluntary donations.