A golfer who had a heart attack while out on a course says you have to seize the moment as he meets the medics who saved his life.

Derek Carruthers, 64, of Kirkoswald, was playing golf in Penrith Golf Club's Inglewood Cup when he suffered a heart attack which he said felt like “someone sticking a corkscrew in your chest and turning it tighter".

He had played five holes of golf when he started to feel pain in his chest. After playing two more, the pain worsened so he went for a sit down.

He said: “One of the guys I was with had suffered a heart attack before and recognised the symptoms straight away.

“The club house called the emergency services. It all happened very fast. A rapid response

paramedic arrived within 10 minutes and called for the air ambulance which arrived shortly after.”

The retired sales executive in construction and grandfather of one, was initally treated by the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) team, before he was flow to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough for surgery.

A surgeon and his team removed a clot from an artery on the surface of his heart and installed two stents.

He said: “Less than an hour later, I was fine and recovering. The turnaround was remarkable.

“I know I’ve been very lucky. If everyone hadn’t reacted so promptly, I might not be here. It sounds dramatic but it’s true.”

He added: "You have to seize the moment. I am so thankful I can still do all the things I enjoy."

Four years after his heart attack, Mr Carruthers and his wife Bridget, 66, visited the Langwathby airbase recently to thank aircrew paramedic Terry Sharpe who was at the scene. The charity is celebrating 15 years of being an independent charity this year.

Mr Sharpe said: “Derek’s incident is a textbook case of everyone working together to give a patient the best possible chance of recovery.

"Without bystanders, the rapid response paramedic and air ambulance all working swiftly, the outcome may have been different.”

Mr Carruthers, who has played golf for more than 30 years, is also a keen skier and attends the gym at Ainstable Leisure twice a week. He also works as a support driver on charity rides from London to Paris with Maximum Adventure and Rather Be Cycling.

Mr Carruthers said: “I haven’t smoked, don’t drink a lot and I like to keep fit but it can still happen. I now wear a heart monitor and I’ve been advised not to let my heart exert 100 beats per minute.”