TWO women desperately tried in vain to save a man they saw collapses in the street.

The man, in his 80s, fell on his face in Maplin Way, Shoebury, at about 11am yesterday. When the women reached him, they found he had a bad head injury.

The man’s collapse sparked a massive emergency response, as reported on this website yesterday.

The air ambulance landed on a patch of land nearby and numerous police vehicles and ambulances soon arrived.

Sandra Francis, 48, of nearby Delaware Crescent, Shoebury and Laura Lewis, 34, of Watkins Way, Shoebury, were driving past when they saw the man fall.

Miss Lewis said: “My friend Sandra pulled over.

“He was face down with loads of blood on him.

“I called an ambulance and turned him over. His lips were purple and he had mud in his nose and mouth so I cleared his airway and started CPR then the paramedics came and took over.”

Miss Lewis,a former carer who had trained in first aid, added: “We were the only ones who stopped. People were just driving by.”

Miss Francis added: “The police think he collapsed and fell.

He had both hands in his pockets and had a nasty gash on his forehead “I was soaked in blood and had to throw some clothes away. I really tried to save him. I really did.

“He was lying there in the pouring rain.

“No–one should have to die like that.

“It was heart breaking.I just wish I could have saved him.”

A resident, who asked not to be named, said: “I heard the ambulance turn up.

“They were working on someone on the ground.

“All I know is someone saw him collapse in the street and they went to help him.”

The nature of the man’s injuries initially provoked a full scale response from police, but by yesterday afternoon they said they were no longer treating the death as suspicious.

However, a police spokesman said an investigation was under way to establish the exact circumstances surrounding the death.

He said: “Officers were contacted by the ambulance service at 11am following reports a man was ill at the junction of Maplin Way and Delaware Road in Shoebury.

“Officers arrived and found a local man with a head injury.

“He was treated by paramedics, but died a short while later at the scene.

“It is unknown why the man was ill, so police set up a cordon to establish the circumstances.

“A post mortem will be carried out in the next few days to establish the cause of his death.

“A decision will then be made as to whether an inquest will be held.”

Maplin Way was cordoned off between Delaware Road, Station Road and Fermoy Road until about 12.45pm while emergency services dealt with the incident.