A pair of quick thinking Veolia staff saved their colleague while on the job, with one administering "life-saving CPR".

Former nurse and driver Matko Spondreht and workmate Scott Franklin were recognised as "Veolia’s Employees of the Quarter" after becoming local heroes with their actions - saving their colleague's life.

The Veolia crew with Cllr Paul De Kort who called them true community heroes,The Veolia crew with Cllr Paul De Kort who called them true community heroes, (Image: Veolia) On Monday, September 2, the Veolia St Albans refuse crew were out on their routine round when loader Daniel Gardiner complained to the driver of feeling unwell.

The driver, Matko, quickly and safely pulled over to the side of the road, and when Daniel became unresponsive, Matko - who prior to working for Veolia had trained as a nurse - took immediate control of the situation and put his medical training into action.

He instructed Scott, the other colleague in the vehicle, to call 999 while Matko checked Daniel for breathing and a pulse.

Upon finding neither, he laid Daniel out on the seats of the vehicle and started performing life saving CPR.

After some time and sustained efforts from Matko, Daniel regained consciousness and started breathing again.

Daniel Gardiner, Veolia loader thanked his colleagues saying he would forever be "extremely grateful" for saving his life that day. 

He said: “There are not enough words to say thank you to Matko for the responsive work that  kept me alive”.

After taking some time off to recover, thankfully Daniel has made a full recovery and returned to work with a phased approach, performing light duties for the time being.

The Veolia team poses in front of the team's truck.The Veolia team poses in front of the team's truck. (Image: Veolia)Read More:

Matko "never thought" that would he would be saving one of the crew during his routine work.

He added: "I am really glad Daniel is back at work, doing what he loves and we are incredibly grateful for the support we have received from St Albans."

Awarding Matko and Scott with their Employee of the Quarter Award, Mark Southgate, operations manager, was "incredibly proud" of the staff.

Matko poses with their Veolia Employee of the Quarter award.Matko poses with their Veolia Employee of the Quarter award. (Image: Veolia) "These people do a brilliant job for the local community week in and week out and our Employee of the Quarter award gives us a chance to recognise their everyday greatness," he said.

“Matko’s heroics made this an easy decision and we are extremely grateful for the work of him and his team, going above and beyond for each other and the community.”