TWO security guards have been praised after their quick actions helped resuscitate a man who suffered a heart attack in a busy Hampshire high street.

Simon Mulliner and Istvan Hajdo rushed to the man's aid after he collapsed near the entrance to the WestQuay Shopping Centre in Southampton.

And paramedics praised the pair, saying that without their quick actions the man would almost certainly have died.

The duo were on duty outside the German beer hall in the city centre Christmas market when the drama unfolded.

A shopper ran over to them to say a man had collapsed yards away, outside the entrance to the shopping centre.

They rushed over to find the man, who is thought to be in his thirties, suffering a suspected cardiac arrest.

Without hesitating they started to give him CPR and compress his chest.

After several minutes, two off-duty nurses who were passing stopped, telling them to continue with what they were doing before eventually taking over.

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Meanwhile one of the pair's colleagues had rushed into WestQuay to get a screen to surround the man while he lay on the pavement, while a staff member from the shopping centre rushed out with a defibrillator which was also used on him.

An ambulance crew then arrived at the scene and he was rushed to hospital.

People at the scene told the Daily Echo the man's heart stopped twice, but both times he was revived by paramedics.

Mr Mulliner and Mr Hajdo were applauded by the crowd as they returned back to the beer hall.

The actions of 36-year-old Mr Mulliner, from Bursledon, and 45-year-old Mr Hajdo, from Shirley, have been praised following the drama on Thursday.

Daniel Jarvis, a shopper who was in Above Bar when the man collapsed, said: “If it wasn't for those two, the man would have died.

“They deserve a mention, they saved his life there's no doubt about it.”

And market stall trader Shona Kelly, from the nearby Happy Hopperz stall, also saw the two security guards rush to the man's aid.

She said: “He was saved thanks to the security guards and the other members of public who helped.

“They acted really quickly and deserve a lot of credit.”

Marcel Cullers, the duo's manager at city security firm Security Nation, said: “I'm pleased for these guys, they deserve the recognition.”

And a spokesman for South Central Ambulance Service added: “We commend members of the public who perform prompt and effective bystander CPR.

Daily Echo:

The scene where the security guards took action

“This dramatically helps people who are having a cardiac arrest in the first few minutes before an ambulance crew arrives.”

But despite the praise the men remained humble, with Mr Mulliner saying: “We were just doing our job.”

And Mr Hajdo added: “We weren't think about being heroes, we were just trying to save the man who was on the floor.

“We are only humans, we have to help each other.”

South Central Ambulance confirmed they took the man in a critical condition to Southampton General Hospital on Thursday evening.

A spokesman for the hospital was not able to provide any information on the man's condition when contacted by the Daily Echo.