Haverhill father and son receive top honour for their life-saving intervention

A Haverhill man and his eight-year-old son have received a national award for their part in saving the life of a man who had suffered a heart attack on the town's golf course.

Thanks to the swift reaction of Garry Kerr, 46, and his son Ellis, fellow golfer and former Olympic boxer, Mick Carter, 68, was brought back from the brink of death after collapsing with a heart attack close to the tenth hole at Haverhill Golf Club.

Garry is to receive a Royal Humane Society Resuscitation Certificate for his life-and-death battle August 19 last year and Ellis has been awarded a Certificate of Commendation for running to find help as his dad fought to keep Mr Carter alive.

Garry and Ellis were on the tenth hole when Mr Carter, who lives in Buckhurst Hill, collapsed while playing on a neighbouring hole.

Mr Kerr leapt into action, giving Mr Carter, who represented Great Britain as a bantamweight in the 1968 Mexico Summer Olympics, CPR for 20 minutes until a paramedic arrived with a defibrillator and shocked his heart back to life. Even then he had to continue with CPR while they set up the defibrillator.

In the meantime Ellis, a champion junior golfer, had ran back to the ninth tee to get help.

Mr Carter has now fully recovered and has since returned with his family to meet Garry, Ellis and their family to say thank you.

He has also gone on to return to Haverhill Golf Club to play a round with Ellis and Garry.

Royal Humane Society Secretary, Andrew Chapman said as he announced the awards at the Society’s London headquarters : “Garry and Ellis were the right people in the right place at the right time. If Garry had not acted as he did Mick would have died.

"And Ellis showed incredible presence of mind for one so young – he was only seven at the time – in running to alert others to get help. They both richly deserve the awards they are to receive."