Life-saving hero on mammoth trek through Dorset
David Sullivan's hitting a golf ball from John O' Groats to Lands End.
Last updated 11th Aug 2021
A life-saving hero is on a mammoth trek from John O' Groats to Lands End, with the goal of hitting a golf ball all the way from A to B.
David Sullivan set off from the north eastern tip of Scotland in June and has now arrived in Dorset ahead of the final two weeks of his journey.
David set himself this extraordinary task, which involved walking between 14 and 30 miles every day and camping overnight, to raise awareness of the importance of knowing CPR, and to raise funds that would enable more towns and villages across the country to install life-saving defibrillators.
David’s passion for teaching CPR came about in 2016 when, while playing golf, he was faced with a life-or-death situation. When a young man experienced a cardiac arrest in front of him, David luckily knew what to do. He gave CPR for 17 minutes until the man could be treated with a defibrillator.
“It was thanks to my training, and a defibrillator being nearby, that I was able to help save the man, who luckily made a full recovery,” says David.
“When something like that happens right in front of you, it makes you realise how precious life is and how important it is to know what to do in that kind of emergency. It was an experience which profoundly affected me, and now it’s my mission to create an army of life savers all over the country.”
He's stopping along the way to meet with people and boost CPR awareness.
David's most recent stop saw him lining up a shot at Durdle Door. All in all, he says he's lost over 740 golf balls along the way. His insurance company have also asked him to use tennis balls in residential areas
He's also been stopping at cafés offering training to anyone who wants it.
"You get one person, two people and then you start training lots of people and that is what I love doing, showing people how to save a life.
"I've had to do CPR on a young lad, I've had to break his ribs but when his mum phoned me up the next day and said I saved his life, I knew more people need to know this life-saving skill."