A SCHOOL business manager who saved a little boy’s life when he collapsed during a football match has been honoured by an ambulance service.

Christine Kidman sprang into action to carry out CPR on Harrison Lovett during the incident at Peter Gladwin Primary School in Portslade.

She had finished a refresher first aid at work course just the day before and her training kicked in.

Harrison went on to make a full recovery and Mrs Kidman was this week presented with a special commendation at the South East Coast Ambulance Service (Secamb) annual awards ceremony.

Mrs Kidman raced over to help when she heard Harrison had suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed during the incident a year ago.

She said: “I quickly realised he was not breathing and started CPR straight away while someone called for an ambulance.

“It was the first time I had ever done it apart from on the training dummies.”

Secamb paramedic Paul Ellis, who made the nomination, said that without the quick intervention and CPR Mrs Kidman had given Harrison, the outcome could have been very different.

He said: “I was so impressed by her bravery and excellent skills in a frightening situation.

“It is very rare to have a job like this and equally rare to get such a positive outcome.

“Speaking with the critical care paramedic after the event, he told me that in the 16 paediatric cases he had attended, this was the only one which had such a positive outcome.”

Harrison was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton and later transferred to the Evelina Hospital in London, where he remained unconscious for 48 hours.

He was found to have suffered from an undiagnosed irregular heartbeat but the quick reactions of Christine meant he could be revived.

Harrison’s parents Alex, 41, and Rachel, 47, said only her first aid training kept the youngster alive before his heart could be restarted when paramedics arrived with a defibrillator.

Mr Lovett said: “Words cannot express our admiration and love for the lady who saved our son’s life.

“Thanks to her he is making a full recovery.”

Mrs Kidman was also shortlisted in the employee of the year category at The Argus Community Star Awards in Brighton in January.