A FAMILY is advocating for more people to learn first aid, after a teenager saved his stepdad’s life by giving him CPR as the emergency services guided him over the phone.

Niall Folland, 15, helped to keep his stepdad Steve Griffiths’ heart beating after he had a cardiac arrest while at the family home in Haverfordwest.

“For me, looking back, everyone was in the right place at the right time,” said Steve, 51, a traffic officer with Dyfed-Powys Police.

“Niall was just getting ready to go out, the paramedics were leaving the hospital, Niall’s nan and granddad were just going out.

“If Niall hadn’t acted as he did, things would be a lot different,” he added.

Steve was sat on the sofa at home in Castle High, Haverfordwest on Tuesday, March 19, with his eight-year-old daughter Eyvie, when he collapsed on the floor.

Eyvie rushed upstairs to find Niall, who was in his room, and came downstairs to find his stepdad on the floor of the living room: he had suffered a cardiac arrest.

The Haverfordwest VC High School student told his younger sister to go out of the room and wait in the bathroom, then dialled 999.

“It still feels surreal but I had to do what I had to do,” said Niall.

“They tell you the position on the chest where to do it, both hands on top of each other and leave a two-second gap.”

When the phone operator said an ambulance was on the way, Niall called his dad Robin Folland, who then called around the family for help.

His grandparents John and Ann Hughes were at home and rushed over to help as the ambulance arrived to take Steve to Withybush.

He was later transferred to the Intensive Care Unit in Morriston Hospital, where he stayed until April 4, and had an operation where a device called an ICD, a small defibrillator, was fitted in his chest.

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“It’s a great shock because I used to do a lot of cycling and running before, so I consider myself to be fit and healthy,” said Steve.

Steve said he cannot remember any of the time between coming home before he fell and waking up in Morriston.

“I was working nights the night before and I called to work as normal.

“I went for a spin around town, had a shower before my shift and then I cannot remember anything after that. I then woke up in Morriston,” he said.

After his stepdad was safely away with the paramedics, Niall tried to take his mind off what had happened by going to see football that night at the Bridge Meadow.

He stayed in touch with his mum Khadine, who went to visit Steve in hospital.

"I tried to get an early night down my dad's, but I couldn't get to sleep," said Niall.

It was only a few days after helping Steve that it hit Niall what had happened, and he started to speak to his friends and his school about it.

While staying at Morriston, Steve was visited by all his friends and family.

The Griffiths family even celebrated Eyvie’s eighth birthday at Steve’s bedside while he recovered.

Now the police officer is resting at home and hopes to have a phased return back to work in the future.

Steve thanked his family and colleagues for all their help and said people he has never met have approached him in the streets of Haverfordwest to offer their support.

"The response has been amazing," he said.

Steve and the family are now advocating for more people to learn how important learning first aid could be for others.

Niall is hoping to join a first aid course with friends in Haverfordwest leisure centre to gain more confidence in the life-saving skill.

Steve said: “I think it helps to have a basic knowledge even if you are not sure what to do.

“Any basic knowledge is better than nothing.”