Ref. 31153-77A FISH-lover says he brought two of his pets back from the brink of death with the kiss of life . . . and some John Smith's bitter.

Mark Conway, 41, thought of CPR after reading in the Evening Advertiser of a woman trying something similar.

But when his life-saving skills seemed to fail, he decided to give Fatty Neil and Slim a decent send-off with some of his favourite tipple. He was amazed when, half an hour later, he saw both fish swimming happily with tankmates Max and Cindy.

Mark, a carpenter, of Sunnyside Avenue in Swindon, said: "I saw that the tank was a little cloudy, so I decided to change the water.

"It was then that I noticed that Fatty Neil and Slim were floating on their sides."

Mark, who lives with partner Carol, 34, and her daughter, Lorna, who is 14, immediately swung into action.

He remembered an Advertiser story in April about Maria Venghaus from Haydon Wick, who saved the life of a her goldfish Boris by giving him the kiss of life. The fish had been found in a muddy stream near her home by sons Dean, 12, and Dylan, four.

The boys netted the fish, and Maria saved its life before putting it in a tank.

Mark said: "I tried that with Fatty Neil and Slim for about an hour, blowing into their mouths and trying to help them swim around the tank, but it didn't work. When I let them go, they just lay still on the surface.

"I then decided that if they were dead or dying, they should at least have a good send-off, so I poured a few drops of John Smith's bitter into their mouths.

"Then, about half an hour later, I looked in the tank and they were swimming around and looking completely healthy.

"We're all really happy. I think it was the beer that did it."

John Smith's spokesman David Jones said he was delighted at Fatty Neil and Slim's recovery and wished them long life and good health. But he added: "We recommend that our beer is drunk only by humans."

Barrie Hudson