‘They were our guardian angels’

Peter Reed, 71, a retired printer, and his partner Jane James, 52, of Woodstock Drive, Ickenham, were on an aeroplane flying into Heathrow on their way home from a holiday in Malta on February 6 when Peter, who has terminal prostate and bone cancer, started to struggle with his breathing.

But luckily two retired nurses turned "guardian angels" and helped keep him alive.

Jane, a mother-of-five and a security guard at Heathrow airport, said: "He fell asleep during the flight but an hour-and-a-half into the flight when our meals came round I could not wake him up."

The cabin crew administered oxygen to Peter and put out a call for any doctors or medical staff on the flight to come forward.

"These two ladies said they were retired nurses and offered to help," recalled Jane.

"One of them got her watch out and measured his pulse, while the other adjusted his oxygen and they sat with him for the rest of the flight back to London."

On arrival at Heathrow, Peter and Jane were met by paramedics who rushed him to nearby Hillingdon Hospital.

But during the rush Peter and Jane were unable to take any details of the two women, who were from Southampton, or say thank you.

So Jane has contacted one of The Hillingdon Times' sister papers The Southern Daily Echo and launched an appeal to trace the two ladies.

Jane, said: "We just want to find these two ladies and all we know is that they are both retired nurses from Southampton.

"They were our guardian angels because I don't think Peter would have survived the flight without them."

Speaking from his hospital bed, Peter said: "I told my Jane that we had to do something to say thank you to the two wonderful ladies.

"All we knew was that they came from Southampton so I hope the paper can help us make contact so we can thank them properly.

"I don't remember much about the flight because I kept drifting in and out of consciousness but I remember a lady holding my wrist.

"They were absolutely wonderful and I owe a lot to them."