TWO police community support officers in Torquay have been praised by their boss for helping a pensioner in danger of a suffering a cardiac arrest.

PCSOs Anthony Moore and James Hunt were sent to a property in Torre on Thursday after the alarm was raised by staff at Plymouth's Derriford Hospital.

Medics were concerned for the welfare of the 68-year-old woman patient who could not be contacted at her home address.

Anxieties about her health were raised after she could not be given dialysis the evening before.

A police spokesman said: "There was serious concern for her health."

The two PCSOs rushed to the address, climbing over a wall into the back garden.

They then had to force their way into the property when they could get no response from the elderly occupant.

In the meantime they called for support from fellow officers and paramedics who attended the scene within minutes.

The ambulance crew who arrived confirmed the woman was 'at risk of cardiac arrest'.

She was taken straight to Torbay Hospital for treatment and recovery.

The PCSOs' boss, Sgt Nick Cooke, said: "This was an excellent example of the routine and varied incidents local police community support officers are sent to on a daily basis."

He added: "They will deal with not only anti-social behaviour but also real emergencies which can often make a difference to the community."