Man, 75, thanks Malmesbury firefighters for saving his life

Ray Gilson, pictured with crew, says he was lucky firefighters were at the station for some training

A man has thanked a group of Wiltshire firefighters who saved his life.

Ray Gilson, 75, became ill during a skittles match at a football club in Malmesbury. He collapsed, hitting his head on a pool table as he fell.

A member of the public rushed to the fire station, where the crew was at a drill night, and asked for help.

The team of six immediately went to the clubhouse after being alerted on 7 November and found Mr Gilson not breathing and unresponsive.

After starting CPR and using their defibrillator to administer four shocks, the crew successfully restarted Mr Gilson's heart and, by the time South Western Ambulance Service took him to hospital, he was conscious and starting to respond.

Mr Gilson said: "The fire service saved my life. I know how lucky I was that they were at the station that evening doing training.

"I wouldn't have been here if they weren't there that night."

After 10 days at Bristol Heart Institute, Mr Gilson was able to return to his home in Sutton Benger where he is continuing his recovery.

Mr Gilson visited Malmesbury fire station shortly before Christmas to give his personal thanks to watch manager Chris Harvey, crew manager Jamie Johnstone, and firefighters Bret Gardiner, Alex Hughes, Neil Risby and Jae Wright.

Group manager Jim Weston, who manages the fire stations in Wiltshire, said: "I am extremely proud of the team at Malmesbury for their professionalism and skill at this incident, which resulted in a life being saved."