A CHIPPENHAM grandmother wants to thank the man who smashed his way into her car to free her after she had a heart attack at the wheel.

Katrina Young, 63, who has no history of heart trouble, was driving along West Cepen Way when she collapsed.

David Mayne, 36, who was travelling in the other direction from his home in Corsham, and was curious as to why a car had stopped suddenly in the middle of the road.

“I saw quite a bit of traffic building up behind her car,” he said. “She was out cold and blue, with her eyes rolled back in her head.”

His first thought was to get Mrs Young out of the car but it was locked. The quick-thinking financial adviser then borrowed a sledgehammer from another driver who had also stopped and rammed his way in through the back window.

“It was quite hard to break,” he said. “It needed a few hits.”

Someone watching the dramatic scene, near Bumpers Farm, called police believing it was a case of road rage.

As Mr Mayne pulled Mrs Young out of the car, he was not sure what was going through his mind.

“My girlfriend had just been telling me about her first aid course and how important treatment in the first few minutes is, before the major organs start to shut down,” he said.

“I haven’t had any training but I’d have given it a go.”

Luckily a passing fire engine stopped and firefighters were able to step in and perform life-saving CPR.

“I was so relieved,” said Mr Mayne. “They’re the ones who saved her life.”

But Mrs Young and her husband Keith, of Humbolts Hold in Pewsham, will always think of Mr Mayne as a hero.

Their daughter Alex Young said: “If it wasn’t for his quick thinking we have been told she would not be here today.”

Her mum, a retired nurse who used to work at Avon Court care home in Chippenham, was taken to the Royal United Hospital in Bath. She spent a week there and didn’t wake up for four days.

She said: “If it wasn’t for David and the firemen and paramedics, I’d be in another place. If I’d been anywhere else, who knows – it’s quite a scary thought. Thank you seems too little.”

A spokesman for Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service said: “We’re delighted that she has made a full recovery, and we are very proud of the part played by our Chippenham firefighters in saving her life.

"It’s unusual for us to come across an emergency rather than being called to one!”