Woman who saved a stranger's life receives Royal Humane Society award

A woman who saved the life of a stranger who collapsed in the street has been honoured by the Royal Humane Society.

Rachel Green was driving to the gym through the village of Sully, in the Vale of Glamorgan, in December 2025 when she noticed two unattended shih-tzus. She pulled over and found their owner, 75-year-old Alan Hale, face down on the pavement. He was in cardiac arrest.

Every second counts

Green called 999 and began chest compressions. The ambulance call handler directed her to the nearest defibrillator, in the apartment complex where Hale lives, which was fetched by the groundskeeper, Ryan Harrison. Other passers-by stopped to help, including an off-duty nurse who joined in with CPR.

"Together, we delivered one shock to Alan, which seemed to restore his heartbeat," Green said.

Hale was taken to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, where he had four stents fitted. His consultant later told him that without the help of the strangers, his chance of survival would have been just 2%.

"I owe them my life"

Green had worked as an ambulance call handler for 13 years, but had "never ever had to deal with anything face to face", and had only basic first aid training. Later that day she rang the hospital to check on Hale, and was amazed to hear he was "up in bed and talking".

"It's weird, I feel like I was meant to be there," said Green, now a fitness coach, who was on her way to a gym she did not usually use.

"I owe them my life," said Hale, who has since been ticking off one item from his bucket list every month, travelling around the country with his dogs, Toffee and Poppy. "All of my senses are heightened. I can smell the scent of the flowers and everything."

The Royal Humane Society has awarded Green its Resuscitation Certificate for her "brave actions". Emma Wood, chief executive of the Welsh Ambulance Service, said Green's actions "undoubtedly saved Alan's life".

About the Royal Humane Society

The Royal Humane Society was founded in 1774 and is one of the oldest charities in Britain. It recognises people who have saved, or tried to save, someone's life, and its resuscitation certificates are given to people whose prompt CPR has kept someone alive.

Could you save a life?

About 30,000 people have a cardiac arrest outside hospital in the UK each year, and fewer than one in ten survive. Early CPR and the use of a defibrillator can more than double someone's chances.

Anyone who finds someone unresponsive and not breathing normally should call 999, start chest compressions and ask someone to fetch a defibrillator. The call handler will explain what to do. Public defibrillators are designed to be used by anyone, and give spoken instructions. Free CPR training is offered by organisations including the British Heart Foundation, and many defibrillators across Birmingham are listed on the national database used by ambulance services.