Police community support officers have been praised by paramedics after responding to an emergency call where a man was suffering from a suspected stroke.

Police received a 999 call where a man in his 80s requested an ambulance and the line went dead immediately after.

PCSOs Dave Endersby and John Thorne, from Braintree and Uttlesford, responded to the abandoned 999 call.

They were met with the man who had called alongside his dad who was short of breath and unable to speak.

Fearful the man had suffered a stroke, officers immediately requested an ambulance and relayed his condition back to paramedics as they made their way to the scene.

With the ambulance en route, the officers reassured the man and made him comfortable before the ambulance arrived and took the man to hospital for further treatment.

The paramedics praised both officers for their quick actions that helped to save the man’s life.

PCSO Endersby said: “It’s days like this, when I get to go home knowing I have really made a difference to someone’s life, that make this job so special.”

Earlier on in the day, the man had been out in his car before he started to become unwell and was taken home by taxi.

Both PCSOs combed the area to locate the car and arranged for his son to collect it.