STAFF from a veterinary surgery who rushed to the scene of a rush hour collision have been praised for their bravery.

Helen Parry and Harry Williams were on duty at Marlows Vets in Chepstow on Tuesday morning, May 7, when a bin lorry and a pick-up truck collided on the A466 just around the corner.

Helen and Harry, along with Marlow Vets owner Glenn Marlow and vet nurse Bea, found the lorry embedded in a tree and the driver suffering a cardiac arrest.

Police have since said the driver’s injuries were life threatening and appealed for witnesses.

A passer-by smashed the passenger window and pulled the passenger out before Harry climbed in through the passenger window to get to the driver .

He was handed a stethoscope by a passing doctor, but “couldn’t hear a heartbeat” and started CPR despite the steering wheel crushing the man’s chest.

“It was difficult to get an angle on him to work on his chest,” he added.

Meanwhile, Bea dialled 999 and Helen had climbed onto the cab to get to the driver.

“Without thinking I started ripping the branches out of the way and pulling at what was left of the windscreen,” she said.

Bea handed her a pair of scissors to cut the seat belt, and she added: “He looked in a bad way so I called Bea to get some swabs as the man had blood in his mouth”

Passing motorist Peter Edward, a resuscitation practitioner from Llangwm, had a defibrillator in his car and hooked it up.

A colonel from the Rifles’ barracks also stopped to help Harry with the chest compressions, while a retired GP and his wife, a nurse, from Devauden, came over and gave valuable advice.

The driver started to breathe again and so Helen, who had smashed her way into the cab, began talking to him.

“His colour was good and he held his head up” she said.

She noticed he was wearing a St Christopher and said the saint was looking after him today.

The police and land ambulances then arrived and took over from that point and an air ambulance later landed and took the driver to Bristol ITU.

The passenger, the driver’s stepson, was shaken, but unhurt.

Glenn Marlow, Marlow practice owner, praised his staff and said their actions, coupled with the assistance of Peter Edwards, helped keep the man alive until the ambulance arrived.

Helen said: “ Glenn Marlow was excellent and so was Bea, both co ordinating and stopping the traffic, Bea whilst all the time in phone to emergency services updating them and passing info onto us.

“It was a real team effort. I only did what anyone else would have done in that situation and one of first to the scene.”

She later got her hands bandaged up at Lydney Hospital.

A Gwent Police spokesperson said: “We're appealing for witnesses after a road traffic collision on the A466, Wye Valley Link Road in Chepstow, at around 9am on Tuesday 7 May.

“Officers attended, alongside personnel from the Welsh Ambulance Service, Welsh Air Ambulance and South Wales Fire and Rescue Service.

“The collision involved two vehicles - a white Mercedes bin lorry and a white Ford Ranger.

“The driver of the bin lorry, a 54-year-man, was taken to hospital for treatment. His injuries are believed to be life-threatening.

“Enquiries are ongoing and we're asking for anyone who may have witnessed the collision, between 8.55am and 9.05am, to contact us.

“Anyone with dashcam or CCTV footage, can contact us by calling 101 or send us a direct message on Facebook or X quoting log reference 2400147455.”