Multiple lives in Cambridgeshire have been saved by quick-thinking police officers and staff in the past year thanks to a new smart phone app.

Since Cambridgeshire Constabulary began using GoodSAM in October last year, eight lives have been saved by officers performing CPR.

Using GPS and an ambulance service system, the app issues alerts for nearby cardiac arrests and its sole purpose is to cover the time between a 999 call being made and paramedics arriving.

Sergeant Chris Postill, from the Digital Policing Team, said: “Upon launching this initiative last year, our view was that to save a single life would represent success and render the scheme worthwhile.

“A year on however, officers have administered successful CPR on multiple occasions, enabling these patients to be transported to hospital alive for urgent medical treatment, giving them the best possible chance of recovery.

In April, PC Patryk Warmuz, a student officer based at Parkside Police Station, was off-duty in Mildenhall when he received an alert on his personal phone that a man nearby was in cardiac arrest.

He arrived at the house to find the man receiving CPR from family members so Patryk took over until an ambulance arrived, with the man successfully regaining a pulse.

PC Steve Campion, based at Ely, was off-duty at home when the GoodSAM app alerted him to a man nearby in cardiac arrest in May.

Steve began CPR and continued with it for about three minutes when the man gasped and started to breathe, however the man stopped breathing again so Steve restarted CPR and resuscitated him successfully a second time.

Last week on October 11, Sergeant Ryan Hanson, an off-duty Bedfordshire officer received a GoodSAM alert on his phone that someone 700 metres away was in cardiac arrest in St Neots.

He arrived a few minutes after the first ambulance crew had arrived and assisted them with CPR, remaining on scene to help until the patient was taken to hospital.

PC Pete Sharp, from Parkside Police Station, was alerted to a man in cardiac arrest when he was off duty in Sutton on September 29.

He arrived and found people giving the man CPR so Pete took over for about 10 minutes, giving two shocks with a defibrillator.

The man began breathing as the ambulance arrived and was taken to hospital for further treatment.

Sergeant Postill added: “The fantastic success of these scheme is testament to the enthusiasm of our officers and their willingness to respond – often whilst off-duty – to calls for help.”