Musician to perform at Bromyard venue where he had a heart attack

A musician from Herefordshire who had a heart attack during a gig is to perform at the same venue almost a year on to raise money for charity.

Guitarist Dave Beale, 69, said he was "on death's door" after collapsing at Bromyard Cricket Club in December 2022.

He had a triple heart bypass operation a month later and has "been on the road to recovery" since - overhauling his diet and losing five stone.

He said he hoped to raise plenty of money for the British Heart Foundation.

Mr Beale, who has been playing guitar for more than 50 years, said he "went down like a sack of spuds" during a break in his performance last year.

He has since lost five stone by changing his diet and exercising

"I felt like I did faint. I just went down, I didn't actually pass out but I was just on the floor," he said.

Friends thought it was related to his diabetes and he managed to get home, but continued to feel unwell.

'Makes you frightened'

The 69-year-old said a doctor rang later to check on him and his wife said he was being sick so an ambulance was called. It turned out he was having a massive heart attack.

"They said if I didn't go with them that night, I might not be here in the morning so I reluctantly went," he said.

Since his operation he said he had replaced the junk food he was eating with a healthier diet and exercise and had stopped drinking.

"After that's happened it makes you frightened... you just have to take each day as it comes," he added.

He will be performing on 16 December and said he was looking forward to helping the charity.

"My family said 'oh, I don't think you should be doing this, it's brining back memories'," he said.

"I said 'well, I'm still here, I'm going to do it and we're going to raise money for British Heart Foundation and try and help out and put a bit of money back for what they did for me.'"

The gig is at the same venue where he fell ill last year