Prison officer Gary Maslin has praised paramedics and the Wiltshire Air Ambulance for getting him to hospital swiftly after he suffered a heart attack.

Mr Maslin, 46, was by the sandwich counter in Sainsbury’s, Devizes, when he collapsed.

Staff in the supermarket came to his aid and a paramedic in a car arrived within five minutes, quickly followed by an ambulance crew on March 25.

Mr Maslin, of Rowde, underwent an ECG test in the ambulance where it was found he had suffered a heart attack. He was driven to police headquarters in London Road, Devizes, and airlifted to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol and then driven by ambulance to the specialist Bristol Heart Institute.

He was taken straight into surgery and a stent was inserted into the blocked artery that caused the heart attack and restored blood supply. He was awake through the procedure and discharged from hospital three days later.

Mr Maslin, a senior prison officer at Erlestoke, said: “The air ambulance, all the paramedics, and the staff at Sainsbury’s were absolutely brilliant. They saved my life.

“The morning after I had the operation the doctor said I had had a massive heart attack and 50 per cent of people die from it. When I collapsed I had no pain, I just felt dizzy. “ Mr Maslin, a divorcee who has a daughter, Rhiannon, said he had no history of heart trouble, does not smoke and regularly plays football and squash. He is off work recuperating and will have to go back to hospital for tests.

Richard Miller, paramedic and clinical team leader on the air ambulance, said: “This is a textbook case for giving a patient the best possible chance of recovering from a massive heart attack.”

Dave Wilmot, the first paramedic on the scene, said: “The Sainsbury’s staff are to be commended for the excellent job they were doing in looking after the patient and keeping him comfortable. This was such a satisfying job to be part of – even five years ago this patient would undoubtedly have died.”