John Rogers meets police officers who saved him after heart attack

John Rogers suffered a heart attack when driving his car on Broadmayne, Basildon on the morning of July 31 last year.

His car came to rest near Basildon Ambulance Station on the road shortly before 10.20am. After a member of the public realised he was unconscious, Sgt David Goodchild and PC Simon Bailey attended the scene and performed CPR on Mr Rogers before a paramedic crew arrived to take him to Basildon Hospital.

This was Mr Rogers' second heart attack, having previously suffered one in 2013.

As he was being taken to hospital, PC Bailey was in touch with his daughter, who was working in Canning Town at the time, and agreed to travel to London to collect her and bring her to hospital to see her father.

Until yesterday, Mr Rogers had not seen the two officers since the incident. Last week, on his 80th birthday, he decided to ask if he could see them, and they came to his home at Southwood Court in Great Spenders, Basildon on Wednesday, where they were also joined by home manager Jeanette McQuilliam.

The great-grandfather of five, who previously worked as a labour master, said to the officers: "Thank you gentlemen from the bottom of my heart for saving my life. You will probably say it was just part of the job, but you could have easily left me there. But it was the fact that you went to get my daughter from London to bring her to me which really made what you did just a ten out of ten service.

"I don't fear death anymore. I've died twice, and each time I had no idea what was happening. But you brought me back."

PC Bailey said: "We don't often get to have these follow ons from people we have helped, so seeing John today was very special indeed.

"With his daughter I just thought I didn't want her to be driving when her father had suffered a heart attack, so I thought it was the best thing to do."