A holidaymaker said she was clinically dead after a heart attack in the swimming pool of a hotel in Menorca until a heroic British firefighter and his son saved her life with six minutes of CPR.
Debbie Taylor's lifeless body was spotted by the side of the pool by quick-thinking Freddie Newton, 11, who alerted his father Matt, an off-duty firefighter.
Matt, 42, leapt into action and performed CPR for six minutes on Debbie, 56, - who was considered clinically dead at this point - until a defibrillator was found to restart her heart.
After making a full recovery, mother-of-four Debbie said of Matt and Freddie: 'It's a miracle. If they hadn't done what they did in the seconds they did it, I probably wouldn't be here.
'If Freddie hadn't gone and seen his dad and said, "The lady is not moving" and he hadn't come over and saved me, it could have been a completely different story.
Debbie Taylor embracing Matt Newton after being let out of hospital in Menorca
Debbie Taylor's lifeless body was spotted by the side of the pool by quick-thinking Freddie Newton, 11, who alerted his father Matt, an off-duty firefighter (pictured: Matt and Freddie)
Just moments before going into cardiac arrest, Debbie had been leaning against the edge of the pool so her husband Dave could take some photos
'I could have had brain issues, but I've got nothing at all. Everything that Matt did was completely 100 per cent spot on. What he did saved my life completely. I can never thank them enough for what they did, ever.'
Debbie, from Northall, Buckinghamshire, went into cardiac arrest while taking a dip at the four-star Globales Mediterrani Hotel in the west of the islands as she holidayed with husband Dave, 52, in May.
Just moments earlier, the NHS administrator had been leaning against the edge of the pool so Dave could take some photos.
But he suddenly found himself having to pull her from the pool.
Debbie said: 'I remember a light switch in my head just sort of clicked, and then all I can remember is just being disoriented.
'I was trying to upright myself, which was a bit weird, and I could just see the white tiles of the pool. My husband and another man managed to get me out of the pool, but I was like a dead weight.'
A touching photo captured the moment Debbie embraced Matt with a hug when she returned to the resort after five days in hospital.
Speaking about their emotional reunion, father-of-two Matt said: 'It was brilliant. You go from seeing her dead, then she left the hotel with the paramedics - and when she came back walking through the doors, it was unbelievable.
'It makes all your training and everything worth it.'
Matt, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, had just checked in the hotel with wife Katie, 39, Freddie and their other son George, 14, when the drama unfolded.
Freddie spotted Debbie's body close to the poolside and immediately grabbed his father to take him over to deliver his life-saving support.
Matt said: 'We are so proud of him. We had only just arrived at the hotel when it happened - we'd dropped our suitcases in the room and headed to the pool and had been there about half an hour.
Matt Newton with Dave Taylor having a drink on the night after Matt and his son Freddie saved Dave's wife Debbie
Back in the UK, Debbie was told by her GP to visit A&E for a further analysis, where doctors discovered that a blood clot on her lung had likely caused her condition (pictured: Debbie and her husband Dave)
'Freddie and George went off to play when Freddie came back saying there was a lady in the pool not moving.
'There was a little island in the pool with palm trees on it where we were so we would never have seen it if it wasn't for Freddie noticing and grabbing me.
'When I saw her, she was half in the pool and half out of the pool. I just ran over.'
Debbie spent four days in intensive care and a further day recovering before released from hospital.
Back in the UK, Debbie was told by her GP to visit A&E for a further analysis, where doctors discovered that a blood clot on her lung had likely caused her condition.
She said: 'Obviously, the blood clot could have happened on the flight, and that's what caused the cardiac arrest.'
Debbie is now on medication and going for regular blood tests.
Freddie will now have a special assembly at his school, Brookfield Junior Academy, to recognise his 'alertness and quick-thinking.'
Principal Daisy Dunning said: 'Everyone at Brookfield Junior Academy is immensely proud of Freddie.
'We cover all elements of keeping ourselves and others safe in our PHSE (personal, social, health and economic) curriculum so it's fantastic to see Freddie putting his learning into action.
'This incident has reminded our whole school and further community of how important it is to look out for each other and the value of remaining alert at all times and speaking out.'
Gary Devonport, station manager at Adwick Fire Station, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, where Matt works, added that he was impressed by the father and son's actions.
He said: 'I would like to commend Matt and his son Freddie for their quick thinking and, ultimately, life-changing action they took to save this woman's life.
'Matt is a credit to his watch, his station and South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue.'
