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A former Premiership rugby player helped save the life of a woman who had collapsed at a railway station while he was travelling to a match.

Scrum-half and surgeon Greg Nicholls, 32, and two physiotherapists used a defibrillator to resuscitate her.

The three members of Fylde Rugby Club had been waiting for a train from Preston to London ahead of Saturday's National League One game.

Dr Nicholls performed CPR and kept the woman alive until paramedics arrived.

The 66-year-old woman, who is believed to have suffered from a major heart problem, was taken by ambulance to Royal Preston Hospital.

She was transferred to Royal Lancaster Infirmary and is in intensive care.

'Not breathing'

Dr Nicholls, a paediatric surgeon at Royal Lancaster Infirmary who spent two years playing for Bristol in the top flight, was on his way to the platform when he heard pleas for help.

He rushed over to the woman with physios Meg Stewart and Greg Littler.

"A women had collapsed and was unresponsive, not breathing and had no pulse," he said.

"Meg, Greg and myself went over and started CPR. Fortunately, there was a defib machine on the wall. This meant we could give her a couple of shocks before the paramedics arrived.

"We continued CPR with the paramedics until she had a pulse and was stable enough to transfer to hospital."

North West Ambulance Service said it responded to the incident at 09:05 GMT.

The Fylde group were able to board the train, which was held up during the emergency.

The club lost their match against Richmond 22-21 in London.