A woman found close to death in men's public toilets in Oxford was dramatically brought back to life by two police officers recently trained in life-saving techniques.

Pcs Jason Ferris and Ian Winter were patrolling Gloucester Green bus station in the city centre when they were told about a woman who had collapsed in the nearby toilets.

They found her slumped on the floor, unconscious and not breathing at about 6pm on Tuesday night.

The officers - who were newly trained in emergency life-saving techniques - immediately put their expertise to use by performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the victim.

They radioed for back-up, and a patrol car arrived minutes later with first-aid equipment which was used to restart the woman's heart.

They kept her breathing until paramedics arrived.

The woman was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, where she was treated for a suspected drugs overdose.

Helen Robinson, spokeswoman for the South Central Ambulance Service, said the woman had discharged herself after treatment.

Sgt Ian Uttley said: "If it had not been for the quick thinking and speedy professional actions of officers, this woman would probably not be alive now."

The men, and other officers from Thames Valley Police, have received special resuscitation training from the ambulance service and the Drug and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT).

It is the first time that officers used their special expertise to save the life of someone since the new training scheme was introduced six weeks ago.

Sgt Uttley said: "It is so satisfying to know that a person's life has been saved thanks to the training and equipment introduced as a result of our close partnership with the ambulance service and the DAAT."

DAAT director Jo Melling said: "We have a multi-agency protocol in place to reduce drug-related death.

"This is a good example of how this is working."

She added: "For the last few years the number of drug-related deaths has been steadily falling in Oxfordshire, which is against the trend nationally."