Man thanks paramedics who saved his life

Dave Mortimer with the team that saved his life

A Sussex man has been reunited with ambulance paramedics who helped save his life, a year after his cardiac arrest.

Retired Health and Safety Officer Dave Mortimer, 67, visited South East Coast Ambulance Service’s Make Ready Centre in Crawley, to thank the team.

Off-duty student nurse Nicky Carr and off-duty Met Police officer Steve Grant called 999 and began CPR.

They were also on the phone to emergency medical advisor Layah Garside, after Mr Mortimer collapsed on 16 April 2023.

South East Coast Ambulance paramedics Bradley Gander and Craig Higginson were among the crew that arrived at the scene and used a defibrillator.

The team stabilised and sedated Mr Mortimer before taking him to hospital in Brighton.

Mr Mortimer, who was at Three Bridges Tesco petrol station on the day of his collapse, said: “I have little, if any, memory of what happened.

"But I have pieced together various pieces of information and found that I had purchased a bottle of Gaviscon for pain I had put down to being indigestion - I obviously was having a heart attack."

Mr Mortimer said he would "forever be grateful for everything everyone did to save my life".