A quick-thinking station officer from South Norwood has been reunited with the man whose life he saved on a crowded rush hour train.

Eddie McDermott used a defibrillator, a machine that shocks a person's heart, to bring 55-year-old Steve Hodder back to life after he suffered a heart attack at London Bridge in June.

Last Tuesday, Mr Hodder, from Sussex, returned to the station to meet Eddie, 35, and thank him for saving his life, and the man from Southcote Road admitted being quite nervous about it.

He said: "I was a bit worried about meeting him as when his wife came in to collect some of his stuff not long after the attack she was crying a lot which set me off and I wasn't sure how I was going to react this time. But it was fine and he said he was very thankful."

Eddie was trained by the London Ambulance Service in how to use the defibrillator and explained he called for it after spotting Mr Hodder was turning grey.

"I was in the office having a cup of tea when we got a call saying someone had been sick on the train," he said.

"It was the beginning of rush hour so the train was packed. I tried to bring him round but he was going grey which was when I realised he had had a heart attack.

"With the help of a couple of passengers we dragged him out of the train and I called for the defibrillator , which I struck him with once and that got him breathing again."

This is not the first time Eddie has been called into action to save a passengers life, having rescued two other heart attack victims in the past two years.

He said: "This is third heart attack I have dealt with at this station in the space of two years, all of which I've brought back.You have to stay quite calm, get in the zone and get on with it."

Mr Hodder was taken to St Thomas' Hospital where he had a quadruple heart bypass and an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, which will give an electric shock if another heart attack is detected, fitted.

He said: "I really don't remember anything of the day, just waking up in hospital sometime afterwards. If it hadn't for been for the prompt action of Eddie and his ability to use a defibrillator I wouldn't be here today."