Three school staff did 25 minutes of CPR on a stranger. A year on, he thanked them

Lunch breaks are usually for sandwiches and catching up. For three school staff members in the UK, one lunch break turned into 25 minutes of fighting to keep a stranger alive.

A year later, that stranger, Kip Knowles, was back in front of them as they received national lifesaving awards.

What happened?

Kip Knowles was cycling alone when he collapsed in cardiac arrest. That is when the heart suddenly stops pumping blood properly.

Three people from a nearby school stepped in: PE teacher Stacey Charman, cookery teacher Chellie Messenger and school nurse Claire Agnew. They began CPR, the chest compressions used to keep blood moving around the body.

They kept going for 25 minutes. They also used a defibrillator, a device that can shock the heart back into a normal rhythm. Kip was revived before medical help arrived.

Why are they being honoured?

Kip's wife nominated the trio for awards from St John Ambulance, a UK first aid charity. The awards recognise people who have saved a life.

One year on, Kip met the three women again at the ceremony, where they received their national lifesaving awards. It was a reunion with the people who had been there on the worst day of his life.

What's the takeaway?

Twenty-five minutes is a very long time to keep up CPR without stopping. Kip was cycling alone, so his chances depended on whoever happened to be close by.

In this case, those people were a PE teacher, a cookery teacher and a school nurse who acted quickly, worked together and had a defibrillator to hand. Kip is here to say thank you because they did.