A POLICE officer has been hailed as a lifesaver after performing emergency first aid on a collapsed Burnley fan outside Turf Moor.

PC Dave Baybutt took action after 69-year-old Clarets supporter Harry Thompson suffered a suspected heart attack just minutes before his team took on Manchester United.

The fan, from Whitewell Bottom, Rossendale, was unconscious and not breathing, forcing PC Baybutt, 26, to put his first aid training into practice.

By the time paramedics arrived with an ambulance minutes later, the pensioner has begun breathing again.

Last night ((THURS)), as Mr Thompson lay “poorly but stable” in intensive care, PC Baybutt was praised for his quick thinking.

But the modest officer, who received police first aid training just weeks ago, played down his heroism and said: “I was just doing my job.”

He said he and two colleagues were outside Turf Moor’s Jimmy McIlroy Stand ahead of Burnley’s first Premier League home game on Wednesday night around 45 minutes before kick-off.

PC Baybutt said: “Suddenly the bloke in front of us collapsed and he was clearly unconscious.

“We put him in the recovery position and that was when I noticed he was not breathing so I started doing CPR and asked for an ambulance.”

PC Baybutt was joined by Burnley’s club doctor who assisted him with emergency resuscitation as the pair waited for paramedics to arrive at the scene.

He said: “It felt like a lifetime when we were doing it but it was probably between five and seven minutes.

“When the ambulance arrived, he was still not breathing but we carried on and eventually when he was taken into the ambulance he was breathing again.”

Mr Thompson was rushed to Royal Blackburn Hospital, where he remained last night. A spokeswoman said he was “poorly but stable” in the hospital’s intensive care unit.

Yesterday PC Baybutt’s colleagues hailed him as a hero.

But PC Baybutt said he was just pleased he was in the right place at the right time.

He said: “I only finished my first aid course last week and luckily it all just kicked in.

“The ambulance got there as quickly as it could and luckily we were there in the meantime.

“Some people around the police station have said I am a hero but I was just doing my job.

“When I thought about it afterwards it was amazing to think I may have saved someone’s father or grandfather - it was surreal.”

PC Baybutt was praised for his actions by Sgt Phil Hutchinson, one of his commanding officers at Burnley police station.

Sgt Hutchinson said: “Dave is trained in first aid but it is not something police deal with on a daily basis, although our jobs are about saving lives and Dave did not even hesitate.

“It would appear that his actions have saved this man’s life and he should be commended for that.”

PC Baybutt, who lives in Leyland, has served with Burnley police for seven years.