London attack: Ayrshire man gave CPR to dying woman

A Scot celebrating his engagement at London Bridge ended up giving CPR to a woman who died in Saturday night's horror.

David Anderson, 29, and Sam Thom, 25, pay their respects near the scene of the Borough Market and London Bridge terror attack. Picture: SWNS

David Anderson and Sam Thom were having drinks in London Bridge toasting their engagement when the horrific events unfolded.

David, 29, a trained lifeguard, performed CPR on the badly injured woman for 45 minutes, aided by the woman’s fiancé and a policeman, but she died. Paramedics told them to stop because it was too late to save her.

The couple initially thought there had been a hit and run accident - but eventually realised the extent of the destruction.

David, from Ayrshire, said: “I looked out the window and could see a girl lying in the road.

“I went outside because I’m a trained lifeguard, gave her a quick assessment and started CPR because she wasn’t breathing and her injuries were serious.

“Her fiancé was stood next to her and he was first aid trained too, so we started doing two-man CPR.

“A police officer came and gave me a break on the compressions, then he got a defibrillator, but it wouldn’t do anything because there was no heartbeat.

“We kept going until the paramedics arrived, and we were working on her for a good 45 minutes, but eventually they called it and that was it, we stopped.

“After that, I went and helped with a Kiwi guy, but his injuries had been patched up and he was in an ambulance, so I just kept him talking.

“Then there was a girl with spinal cord injuries on a board which needed lifting, so I helped with that, and by then there was only one other casualty.”

David and Sam, 25, had come to London on Saturday to celebrate their engagement, and are staying in the UK capital until Wednesday, when they fly to New York.

David said he had been on the scene for ‘five or ten minutes’ before he realised there were other casualties across the bridge.

He praised the emergency services for their incredible work and ‘sheer professionalism’.