Man who almost died on set of BBC's Antiques Roadshow in Compton Verney thanks air ambulance charity

The grounds of the art gallery were being used as a location for the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow and Mr Putt, a retired retail manager from Rugby, was on his way back to the car park having had some of his collection of 1930s coffee cups valued and filmed.

He has Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which means he finds it difficult to walk uphill without getting breathless.

“I suddenly felt as though I was going to pass out so I stepped on to the grass.", said John. "That’s the last thing I remember until I woke up in hospital."

Had John been at home alone – which he would have been if he wasn’t at the event – he could have died.

He had suffered a cardiac arrhythmia which can be life threatening if not treated quickly.

Bystanders started CPR on him immediately and a paramedic working for the television company took over his treatment until a land ambulance and Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA) arrived at the scene.

John had a very low pulse rate when the air ambulance critical care team took over his care and he was given a drug to increase his heart rate.

He was also attached to specialist equipment to regulate his heart beat if necessary.

The air ambulance crew stabilised John and he was flown to University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire where there is a specialist cardiology department.

Due to the popularity of the Antiques Roadshow, there were queues of cars entering the site and heavy traffic in the immediate area so transporting him by air was the quickest way of getting him to the urgent medical care he needed.

Two days after being admitted to hospital John underwent an operation to have a pacemaker fitted and after a few days recovery on the wards he was allowed home.

John said: “There is no doubt in my mind that going to Compton Verney that day saved my life.

"Had I been on my own at home I would have died. I am very happy to still be alive."

John and his wife Madeleine, are regular supporters of the local air ambulance charity.

“We have always felt very sad that the country doesn’t finance the helicopters and so we make donations to help keep them flying", said John. "I am now a living example of the lifesaving work they do."

WNAA critical care paramedic Philippa Gibbs was part of the crew who treated John. She said: "Thanks to the initial assessment and care given to John by the paramedic employed by the BBC following the CPR given by bystanders, we came along and were able to continue the treatment that resulted in such a good outcome for him.

"Restart A Heart Day on October 16 is the perfect opportunity to highlight the importance of learning how to do CPR and enable people to spend just 10 minutes to gain confidence in doing this.

"The first link in the ‘chain of survival’ is the most important one as shown by John’s and many other survivors’ stories.”

WNAA will be teaching their Head Office staff how to perform CPR on October 16 and are urging the general public to familiarise themselves with CPR or to book a course which can be done through the British Heart Foundation and Warwickshire First Aid Training: bhf.org.uk or warwickshirefirstaid.co.uk.

To find out more on supporting your local air ambulance, go to theairambulanceservice.org.uk call 03003 045 999.