THE last thing Jeremy Anderson remembers about May 4 was sitting down to have his lunch at his desk.

Two days later he woke up in hospital having suffered a cardiac arrest. Now, six months later he has brought the team together who saved his life to say a very special thank you.

First on the scene at Wat Tyler House had been transport team leader Roger Haworth who found Jeremy at his desk with his head back, looking almost as though he had fallen asleep.

“He was unresponsive and I was able to assess quite quickly that he wasn’t breathing properly,” said Roger, who enlisted the help of some of Jeremy’s colleagues to help him out of his chair and onto the floor while they phoned for an ambulance.

His 12 years of first aid training kicked in and he began performing CPR as he was joined by transport project manager Heather Lane, who has worn the green first aider’s lanyard since 1998.

Soon after, a defibrillator arrived and they hooked the life-saving piece of equipment up to their colleague before shocking him.

Soon after, paramedic Andy Kingsman arrived with then student paramedic James Ferron who has since gone on to complete his studies. Heather and Roger continued to administer CPR while they set up their own equipment.

“What they did was what saved Jeremy,” said Nick. "It was definitely the work of the first aiders and the defibrillator that saved him. We carried on that process.”

Jeremy said: "In the first two or three weeks afterwards I was at home getting used to things and getting back to normal. It is as much about the mental aspect of it as it is the physical in some respects.

"I think it is very important that people are made aware about the importance of first aid training and how life changing defibrillators can be."

The senior traffic engineer, who was 54 at the time of the incident, has been so inspired by the events that took hold of his life that afternoon that he set about trying to raise funds for a defibrillator in Cricklade. But support came in from far and wide and he smashed his £2,000 target to raise £6,000.

As a result, two permanent defibrillators will be installed around the town, while a portable unit will go to Purton Football and Cricket Club.

The fourth will go to Cricklade Rugby Club, of which his brother was a founder member, but passed away as a result of heart problems at the age of 59. His father also died as a result of heart troubles in 1976 at the age of 52.