A FIRST aider fought to save a man’s life as he suffered a heart attack in a Frinton car park.

Julie Robinson, 54, from Kirby Cross, was working at the Co-op store in Frinton’s Triangle Shopping Centre when she was called into action.

Bystanders reported seeing the 65 year old victim collapse against a car in the Triangle car park.

Julie was about to leave work when she heard the shouts for help.

She called an ambulance and worked to keep the man breathing with the help of two other first aid trained bystander.

Julie said: “The whole thing was very scary. I just did my best to help and hope I made a difference."

A paramedic arrived about 20 minutes later to take over, but the ambulance was delayed and took nearly an hour to arrive.

Julie said: “Once the paramedic got there he was constantly calling up the service trying to get an ambulance to the scene.

“It took a long time to get there in the end. That’s not good enough when the man was fighting for his life."

The incident happened on Friday March 14.

An ambulance spokesman apologised for the delay. The original ambulance sent to the incident was diverted to another incident where a child had suffered severe burns.

The spokesman said: "Our focus is on getting more paramedics and more ambulances in the area to provide better care for patients when they need it.”