iPSWICH: A pair of heroic Ipswich Town stewards were today praised for saving the life of a fan who was found slumped inside Portman Road without a pulse.

The drama unfolded at around 6pm on Saturday following the Blues’ 3-2 win over Peterborough United.

Chief steward Ron Lamb and colleague Kevin Widdick, both 55, were finishing up at the ground when they were called to help a 20-year-old supporter who had collapsed beneath the South Stand.

Rushing to the scene, Mr Lamb, 55, today told how the pair found the man slumped against a wall with his friends shouting: “You have got to save him, you have got to save him”.

He said the young fan then collapsed in front of them.

“He just curled over and seemed to collapse,” he said. “It was like he was having a relapse or some sort of seizure.

“They had been drinking but you could tell this was something more serious.”

Checking for the man’s pulse Mr Lamb said they could not find any trace of a heartbeat.

“We were getting nothing, he had no pulse,” he added. “We laid him out and started CPR.

“It must have been three to four minutes before he came round, just as the ambulance crew got to us.”

The Blues stewards were today praised by Ipswich Town chief executive Simon Clegg, who said the club was “proud” of their actions.

The incident came at almost the same moment Bolton Wanderers star Fabrice Muamba suffered a heart attack and collapsed on the pitch at White Hart Lane during the club’s FA Cup quarter final against Tottenham Hotspur.

Mr Lamb said that in his 20-year career as a steward at the club, it was the third time he has had to rush to the aid of someone who had fallen ill.

“It is a weird feeling,” said Mr Lamb, who lives in the Whitehouse area of Ipswich.

“It doesn’t hit you until you get home – you just go into that mode and get on with it.

“I was glad to have Kevin with me, he works in patient transport and has lots more experience of that kind of thing than me.

“We are all first aid trained but you hope you will never have to use it.

“I just hope he is OK and recovering well. It would be nice to hear how he is doing.”

A spokeswoman for the East of England Ambulance Service said they were called at 6.01pm on Saturday to the ground.

She said crews were alerted to reports of a fan who had collapsed. When paramedics arrived, they took the 20-year-old to Ipswich Hospital.

It is understood the man stayed in hospital overnight.

Bolton midfielder Muamba, 23, remains in the London Chest Hospital. His condition is described as serious but no longer critical after the ex-England under-21 international started to breathe independently.

n Do you know the fan involved? Would you like to thank Ron and Kevin? Call the newsdesk on 01473 324790 or you can send an e-mail to starnews@archant.co.uk