Bradford Sea Cadets staff were involved in a dramatic real-life rescue when a colleague found himself unable to breathe while out at sea.

Sub-Lieutenant Joanne Goodchild spoke of the calm and collected way her unit handled the situation and put their training into practice.

The staff had taken a group of cadets from the Bradford unit to a summer camp in Holyhead, Wales, and were undergoing training about two miles from harbour when the man began to suffer chest pains.

She said: “The crew in the boat got quite concerned. He couldn’t breathe and they didn’t know why.

“One of the drivers on the other boat phoned the coastguard. They were in the middle of the sea on a training exercise but they got there quite quickly.”

Sub Lt Goodchild said the crew on her boat noticed something was wrong and went to them to see how they could help.

“We moored up together to try to calm him down and prevent his chest pains from getting any worse,” she said.

The man, who was a member of staff at Loughborough Sea Cadets, was given oxygen and taken to Holyhead Marina by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution before being taken to hospital by a waiting ambulance.

He has since made a full recovery.

Sub Lt Goodchild said: “Everyone coped very well with the situation and everybody’s safety was paramount.

“All the training we were given throughout the year, everything we had learned, was put into action.

“Everyone kept calm.”

She was assisted by Sea Cadets chaplain Jon Howard, chief petty officer Matthew Hall and petty officer Wayne Young during the incident.

Mary Mandreit, of the Sea Cadets unit management committee, said: “Everyone thought it was very exciting and they handled themselves really well.

“The staff new exactly what to do and they are a credit to the unit. We are all very pleased about what they did.”