A MAN who was resuscitated by RNLI lifeguards in Tenby after suffering a major heart attack said he "simply would not be here" if it was not for the quick and professional response of his rescuers.

James Probert from Kilgetty collapsed from the cardiac arrest in the car park near Tenby's South Beach in June.

RNLI lifeguards, alerted by a member of the public, found him lying face down, unconscious and not breathing.

The lifeguard team of George Stottor, Angus Wyatt, Katie Sutton and Kirk Lester, who are all fully first-aid trained, immediately started CPR, using an automated external defibrillator.

Working as a team, and with the support of Tenby firefighters, they carried out between 10 and 15 minutes of resuscitation before Mr Probert's heart started beating, he began breathing again and slowly recovered consciousness.

Since then, the 58-year-old has had a triple heart bypass operation and is now fully on the road to recovery. Doctors have told his family that only five in 100 people survive this type of cardiac arrest.

Father-of-four Mr Probert and his family have now made a kind donation of £258 to the RNLI charity and thanked the team who saved his life.

"Without them I would be dead," he said. "I want to thank every one of the team who helped me, and it shows just how valuable the RNLI lifeguards are."

Western Telegraph:

Tenby lifeguards  George Stottor, Angus Wyatt, Katie Sutton, Holly Thomas and Kirk Lester, who were involved in Mr Probert's life-saving incident, PICTURE: RNLI

Mr Probert said he remembers very little from the day of the incident in June. After his resuscitation, he was taken to Withybush Hospital, where he spent 10 days before being transferred to Morriston Hospital in Swansea. There he had the triple heart bypass operation in July, the day before his 58th birthday.

He, his wife Jeanette and children Louise, Anthony, Ruth and Pearl have all contributed to the total donated to the RNLI, as well as collecting donations from other family members.

Said Louise: "You normally think of lifeguards rescuing people out of the sea or caring for people on beaches, but these lifeguards actually raced from the beach in the opposite direction to save my dad. We owe them everything, and we cannot thank them enough."

Said RNLI lifeguard supervisor Chris Rigby: "Our team of lifeguards aren't motivated by receiving recognition or donations from people they help, but it's always a really nice boost for the team when people we help show their gratitude like the Probert family has done.

"This is one of the most serious first aid incidents our team has dealt with in recent years and I would like again to praise the lifeguards and the local firefighters who responded."