DASHING Dave Donaghue became a lifesaver: twice in one day!

The 58-year-old was hailed a two-time hero for helping save the lives of two people outside a Bury pub in separate incidents.

In the early hours of last Saturday morning (May 1), Dave, of Martin Street, Fairfield, had been training the landlord's dog at the Fairfield Inn when his first-aid expertise was called on.

He said: "I often go and train the dog at this time because the pub is quiet and there is no one around."

After putting the dog through its paces, Dave set off home, but noticed a man lying on the footpath next to the pub in Rochdale Old Road.

He said: "Straight away, I thought he was dead. He was blue, and when I felt for a pulse there was nothing. The man, who was aged about 17, was covered in vomit and had swallowed his tongue. I freed it and started trying to resuscitate him, but after a few minutes I started to think it would not help, but kept trying anyway."

An ambulance was called and after five minutes, just before it arrived, Dave managed to revive the man, who was then taken to Fairfield Hospital.

Dave continued: "The man just jolted and vomited, but I was just glad that I had managed to bring him round.

"The paramedics took over when they arrived and took him to hospital. I went home and shook like a leaf. I just went into autopilot, and it was something that just came naturally."

Later that day, as Dave was heading up to the pub again for a quiet drink, he spotted another man lying in a pool of blood outside the pub with a gash on the back of his head. He had fallen and was bleeding heavily.

Dave, who works as a security guard at Holcombe Moor Army Training Camp, said: "I applied pressure to the wound and sat with the man while someone called an ambulance. I couldn't believe I had used the skills twice in one day."

Staff and regulars from the Fairfield Inn have heaped praise on Dave and think he should be commended for his quick-thinking actions.

John Holroyd, landlord of the Fairfield Inn, said: "Dave definitely saved the life of the man who had collapsed in the early hours. He is a hero. We were laughing later though that every time the emergency services turned up that weekend Dave was on the scene. They must have thought it was strange!"

Pub customer Kieran Stanley said: "We all think Dave deserves some recognition. By all accounts, the man who had collapsed looked as if he had died, and but for Dave, he would not have survived."