A MUM-OF-ONE who performed CPR on a man hit by a car outside the YMCA has described how she stepped into help and wishes more people were trained in first aid.

Tracey Morley was out celebrating her sister’s birthday and had been having a drink at The Lamb, on Corporation Street, St Helens before leaving and crossing the road.

It’s then that she heard an "almighty bang" behind her and saw a man on the ground near the YMCA roundabout.

The 52-year-old, who works in mental health, said: “We’d been drinking in The Lamb and left to go on to the next pub when I heard an almighty bang behind me and in that moment it was fight or flight.

“I wanted to run away from the noise which I think is natural, but I turned and saw there was a man on the floor and ran over to help him.

“Once I got there I released he was the man we’d just been speaking to in the pub on the table next to us.

“I shouted for someone to call an ambulance and I felt for a pulse and could feel it initially and it got weak, there was lots of confusion over how to use the defibrillator in the YMCA as you need a code, so adrenaline just kicked in and I started CPR.

“In the pub he’d been saying he was a huge Everton fan and had tickets to watch the derby in March and about his son, so I kept telling him ‘you have to hang on in there', and listen you have those derby tickets, you can’t let them go to waste’ to try to keep him with me while doing the CPR.

“Ambulance arrived and asked me to stop CPR so they could assess him, but I kept my hand on his chest and I could feel his heart rate go down again, so I told them and they told me to continue with CPR if I felt OK to do so, so I did.”

After a short time, paramedics stretchered the man into an ambulance and Tracey along with her sister were questioned by police as witnesses to the crash.

Police confirmed that at about 9.10pm officers received a report of a collision involving a black Volvo and a pedestrian on North Road, near the YMCA building.

The man, aged in his 60s, was taken to hospital with "a serious head injury".

Officers confirmed on Monday his condition is "critical".

Tracey added: “I couldn’t get the gentleman out of my head, and police had said he had been taken to Walton, so I called and passed on my number for them to give to the family, just to let them know I was with him and he wasn’t alone.

“His ex-wife called me back and thanked me saying that a consultant told them that without CPR at the scene, he would have died before reaching hospital as the CPR meant he didn’t lose any oxygen to his brain.

“I’m proud of myself for that because even though I am first aid trained, when you are trained up on a dummy you don’t ever think you are going to have to deal with it in situations out in everyday life like that, I suppose everyone should know how to do it because hopefully it made a difference to this man.

“I had a cry last night as I don’t think it had all hit me properly, but my partner said I did all I could, and I’m happy knowing that at least I tried and did the right thing.”

Anyone who witnessed the collision or captured anything on CCTV or dashcam is asked to contact SCIU on (0151) 777 5747, or email SCIU@merseyside.police.uk.

"Alternatively DM @MerPolCC or @CrimestoppersUK on 0800 555 111, quoting reference 23000085305."