An ambulance crew member from Braintree has been reunited with a man she helped save after he suffered from a cardiac arrest.

Richard Knapp, 64, from Chingford, collapsed on February 3 while at a gathering with friends in Epping.

He was struggling to breathe and Epping community first responder Sandra Newman was first on the scene, soon followed by emergency care practitioner Richard Holt in a response car and ambulance crew members Allison Cheesman, from Braintree, and Stephen Dennehy.

Mr Holt said: “He was pale and clammy and we did some tests. We could see he was having a massive heart attack then his heart just stopped.

“Sandra started CPR and we had to give him three shocks with the defibrillator.”

Mr Knapp, a retired carpenter and joiner, was then taken to Basildon and Thurrock University Hospital, where he suffered multiple organ failure and pneumonia and battled for his life in intensive care.

The team met up with Mr Knapp again at his home last Monday.

Mrs Cheesman said: “To see someone pull through like this is absolutely amazing. It really is a phenomenon.”

Mr Knapp said: “I’m ever so grateful. I can’t put it into words.

“I’ll always be grateful to those who helped me on that day and the staff in the hospital. I love them all and I’ll never forget them. They all fought to give me back a life.”