A west Suffolk grandfather who collapsed at the bed and breakfast he runs and went into cardiac arrest has been reunited with the ambulance workers who saved his life.

Gordon Wagstaff, 74, cannot remember anything of the drama which unfolded on the morning of April 25 in Whiting Street, Bury St Edmunds.

But thanks to the quick response of ambulance staff, they managed to get his heart beating again after performing CPR and shocking him once with a defibrillator.

Mr Wagstaff was reunited with the five ambulance employees who came to his aid last week.

He said: “The first I remember was when I woke up at Papworth. I cannot thank the ambulance staff enough for what they did for me. I am lucky to be here.”

Paramedic Dale Boustead was first on the scene in a rapid response vehicle and ambulance crew Neil Stead and Roger Stearne were on scene in under four minutes followed by duty locality officer Paul Goodchild.

After getting his heart restarted, the crews had to work out a way of getting Gordon down the steep stairs of his home, which resulted in a call to Edward Watt, Thomas Jones and Stephen Cole, from the trust’s Hazardous Area Response Team (HART), who are specially trained at working at height.

He was eventually taken to West Suffolk Hospital before being transferred to Papworth Hospital where he had a pacemaker fitted. A week later, he returned home and has gone on to make a full recovery.

Gordon and his wife Wanda have made a donation of £500 to the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust Charitable Fund in thanks to the work of the crews.

These funds will be used to support volunteer community first responder groups.