A 10-year-old boy owes his life to two teaching assistants who saved him from the brink of death after he collapsed in a playground.

The pupil was enjoying his lunch break at St Mary of Charity Primary School in Faversham when his heart stopped and he fell to the floor.

Members of staff Rebecca Wood and Holly King were the first to tend to the boy, as they administered CPR in a bid to keep him alive.

When paramedics arrived at the scene they also tried to resuscitate the youngster, before shocking him three times with the school's defibrillator.

He was flown by an air ambulance to a London hospital, where he managed to recover from the ordeal.

Following the incident on March 16, emergency services have revealed the boy would have died if not for the swift reaction of Mrs King and Miss Wood.

Andrew Chapman, the secretary of the Royal Humane Society, said: "Thank goodness they were on the spot, knew what to do and as a result saved the boy’s life.

"It was a superb effort and they both thoroughly deserve the awards they are to receive.”

On the day of the incident, police confirmed they were also called to the school to assist the ambulance service.

Eyewitnesses reported seeing an air ambulance along with officers in forensics suits at the scene.

The playground was also reportedly cordoned off with police tape.

Mrs Wood was the first to reach the boy, who was said to be unresponsive and breathing irregularly.

She was aided by Miss King after calling for support.

The heroic pair have been awarded the Royal Humane Society's resuscitation certificates.

The group, which was founded in 1774, is the premier national body for honouring bravery in the saving of human life.

It was formed by medics William Hawes and Thomas Cogan, whose primary motive was to promote techniques of resuscitation.

The Queen is the body's current patron and its president is Princess Alexandra.