A 74-year-old man from Ravenswood has emotionally thanked the two men from a car showroom in Ipswich who performed CPR and used a defibrillator to try and restart his heart.

Ipswich Star: Ian Clarke and his partner Marina Keevil visited John Grose to give gifts and say thank you Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWNIan Clarke and his partner Marina Keevil visited John Grose to give gifts and say thank you Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWN (Image: Archant)

Having been told by doctors he died for six minutes, Ian Clarke has now recovered and is "feeling fantastic" after undergoing a heart bypass at Papworth Hospital.

Mr Clarke has now finally met the group of men from the John Grose car showroom on Ransomes Europark, who worked as a team to try and keep him alive.

Thanking Jonathan Rawlinson, who was one of the men that performed CPR, Mr Clarke said: "The main thing is to thank you for doing what you did, I wouldn't be here without you."

It was busy Saturday morning at John Grose when Ian Clarke walked in and collapsed in front of the parts counter.

Staff immediately sprang into action, whilst two performed CPR another grabbed a defibrillator - someone else called the ambulance service, which arrived after 10-15 minutes.

James Brewer, was the first aider called to the scene. Having only dealt with minor injuries before, he was shocked to see Mr Clarke collapsed on the floor.

Mr Brewer praised the training he has been given by John Grose and said: " The defib we've got behind reception is hugely important it was there it was ready, we turned it on, it started talking to us and it told us exactly what to do."

As Mr Brewer and Mr Rawlinson fought to get Mr Clarke's heart beating again Sam Hunnibel relayed information to paramedics and ensured they were able to reach the showroom as quickly as possible, he said: "It is brilliant to see Ian looking so well."

Paramedics and a specialist resuscitation nurse from Ipswich Hospital have since been to praise the team for what they did on that dramatic February morning.

Ipswich Star: Ian Clarke chatting to Jonathan Rawlinson he performed CPR to try and save him Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWNIan Clarke chatting to Jonathan Rawlinson he performed CPR to try and save him Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWN (Image: Archant)

Mr Clarke, cannot remember why he went to John Grose that day or even getting in his car to drive there - doctors have said this is likely to be because of his collapse.

The last time his long term partner Marina Keevil, 64, had seen him she asked Mr Clarke if he could pick up a loaf of bread - thinking he was heading to the local shop like he usually did.

As the dramatic scenes were unfolding at John Grose, Mrs Keevil had been waiting for four hours at their home in Ravenswood expecting Mr Clarke to return any minute.

As the hours ticked by she began to panic about his whereabouts and called Ipswich Hospital.

Mrs Keevil added: " I rang the hospital, they checked and they said 'I'm sorry my darling he's in Critical Care he's really bad.'"

She added: "It was very scary when I saw him with all the wires and all the tubes. The doctor was there and that's when he told me 'He died for six minutes.'"

"It was great to come back today, no words and no gifts will ever show how thankful we are," she added.

Mrs Keevil said that when her the couple are feeling up to it they plan to find the paramedics that helped to save Mr Clarke.

Ipswich Star: Ian Clarke was brought back to life after staff at John Grose in Ipswich helped resuscitate him Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWNIan Clarke was brought back to life after staff at John Grose in Ipswich helped resuscitate him Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWN (Image: Archant)