THAT'S MY GIRL: Chris Keeler with his daughter, Eleanor, whose quick thinking saved his life Picture: Frank Dwyer.

Quick-thinking schoolgirl Eleanor Keeler today told how she helped save her dad's life when he collapsed at home from a brain disease.

Chris Keeler, 49, was on a life support machine for three days as medics fought to save him from a viral form of encephalitis at York District Hospital.

But it was the actions of ten-year-old Eleanor in the first minutes after his collapse that put him on the road to recovery.

The drama began one morning just after mum Annette, a teacher at Hob Moor Junior School in Acomb, left their home in Beadle Garth, Copmanthorpe.

Eleanor, a pupil at Copmanthorpe Primary School, said: "I was having my breakfast when I heard a loud thump upstairs.

"Dad was lying on the floor on his side and he was fitting very slightly, shivering almost all the time. His head was moving up and down."

Eleanor telephoned 999 and the emergency operator talked her through the next few minutes as she went up and down the stairs checking on Chris.

Chris was taken to hospital and regained consciousness after three days. He left two weeks later.

He said: "I'm just so proud of what Eleanor's done. Without her I wouldn't be here."

Eleanor said she had learned about first aid at 1st Copmanthorpe Brownies and Guides and from her mum, who takes children to the North Yorkshire Police's Crucial Crew safety event. Eleanor visited it after Chris's collapse.

Chris, a former head teacher of Huntington Primary School, hopes to return to work soon as a senior education adviser.

see also 'Training pays off'

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