A VILLAGE bobby helped to save the life of a teenager then drove the ambulance that took him to hospital.

Langho police officer Dave Fish, 36, was called to a house in Weaver's Croft, Billington, on Saturday, where 14-year-old Clarke Clayton had been found unconscious in the garden.

The teenager is still fighting for his life in Booth Hall Hospital, Manchester.

The dad-of-three helped resident Sue Whitehead resuscitate the teenager, who had suffered a heart attack while apparently inhaling lighter fuel, for 10 minutes before paramedics arrived at the scene.

He said: "We received a call that a boy had collapsed and was believed to have stopped breathing.

"When I arrived, Sue had already started giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but said she couldn't find a heartbeat. We used heart massage and managed to get a pulse before the paramedics arrived."

Although trained in basic first aid like all police officers, PC Fish said he had never been called to deal with a medical emergency.

But paramedics then asked him to drive the ambulance to hospital while they continued vital life-saving work.

He said: "Thankfully two police traffic cars turned up and gave me an escort to Blackburn Royal Infirmary

" I have never driven an ambulance before in an emergency, but the only thing I could think of was getting the lad to hospital. I just hope he pulls through."

Inspector Les Martin of Clitheroe police praised everyone involved in the rescue operation and said police officers were trained to cope with such emergencies.

The boy's family has contacted PC Fish and other people concerned with the rescue operation with their thanks.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.