A MAN who suffered a heart attack at the wheel said without two selfless commuters rushing to his aid, he would "not be here today".

Peter Rowley, 68, from Steeple, was driving along Maldon Road at around 6.20am on November 19, 2018 when he collapsed behind the wheel.

Colin Marshall, 63, from St Lawrence, was driving by when he noticed Peter’s car in a ditch and rushed over.

He found Peter slumped in his grey BMW, with the engine still running and the wheels still turning.

Another driver, Kiren Gilmore, 25, from Aldeburgh in Suffolk also came to his aid.

The pair met again on Monday for the first time since that day.

Mr Marshall said: "I tried to open the door, but couldn't open it because it was locked.

"I waved Kiren down, while on the phone to the police we said we needed to smash the window, so we did.

"I held his pulse and could not feel anything.

"I turned the car off because the fumes were getting quite bad.

"Kiren then told me he was first aid trained.

"It was probably him that kept Peter going until the ambulance arrived."

The pair believe the emergency services were at the scene with 12-minutes of them discovering Mr Rowley.

Mr Gilmore performed CPR on Mr Rowley both in the car and in the road.

He said: "I remember shouting at the handler for the ambulance service on the other end of the phone.

"She was counting and trying to give me rhythms but I knew I what I was doing.

"I said to her; 'please, listen or do anything but please stop shouting numbers at me'."

Mr Gilmore apologised to the call handler after the incident.

Mr Rowley, who collapsed just outside his home in Steeple Bay Holiday Park, Canney Road was shocked a number of times by a defibrillator.

Mr Marshall added: "When he was first shocked his arm flew across his body and hit the floor, I thought; wow, if that doesn't wake him up."

After around 25 minutes without a pulse, the pair were amazed to find Mr Rowley's heart was starting to beat.

The paramedics commended Mr Gilmore, who volunteers as a coastguard, saying that without his quick actions, Mr Rowley would not have survived.

He was taken to Basildon Hospital and later moved to Broomfield.

Hearing the accounts of Mr Marshall and Gilmore, Mr Rowley described it as "really weird".

He said: "I do not remember anything until two weeks after it, because they put me into a coma.

"I think everyone thought I wasn't going to survive, I think the doctors told my three daughters and my son there was 2.5 per cent chance I would survive."

Mr Marshall added: "I don't know if I believe in miracles but something has happened for me to stop him, for us to be there at that time, everything just fell into place."

Mr Rowley is coming close to reaching a full recovery having previously been told his brain would be severely damaged by the incident.

However it has not been without sacrifice; he has quit smoking, he said he had lost a significant amount of weight and he is still waiting to be able to drive again.

Mr Rowley said: "They felt my body would recover, but they were not sure everything up there would come back.

"I never ever thought I would back in my home again. My life has changed a lot, but it's great."

PC Sam Claxton, who arrived at the scene and investigated the collision, said: “The quick actions of Colin and Kiren undoubtedly saved Peter’s life.

“It is fantastic to be able to bring these three back together, an opportunity that would not have been possible without the help of two passing motorists.”