A WIFE is taking on a charity run in memory of her friend, after she witnessed him having a cardiac arrest on holiday.

Jane Matthews, from Witham, booked a city break to Rome two years ago.

She went with her husband, her friend Steve, and his wife Andrea.

They thought it would be a great start to the festive season, visiting the Christmas markets.

Mrs Matthews, 56, said: “While we were on the Eurostar, travelling to Rome, I noticed Steve didn’t look well. He reassured us that he was fine, so we didn’t think anything of it.

“But as we made our way through the terminal at Paris, to make our connection, I heard a huge crash from behind. I turned around to see Steve lying motionless on the floor – he had had a cardiac arrest.

“Andrea was hysterical and I tried desperately to find help, relying on of the few French words that I knew. Luckily, a local fireman rushed over to help."

She said it felt like forever before the ambulance arrived and rushed him to the nearest hospital.

She said: "The British Embassy and Eurostar were incredibly helpful, sending friends and family over from the UK to Paris at no cost.

"I have never felt more lost, trying to look after Andrea as well as coping with such a tragedy in a completely different country.

“Steve was in a medically-induced coma, wires and tubes surrounding him. We were told there was a chance he could be brain dead and his liver and kidneys were already failing."

She is taking on the British Heart Foundation’s Canary Wharf Jog on September 7 to raise awareness.

She said: “At midnight, just a couple of days after his collapse, he sadly passed away. He was only 65.

"It was a complete shock and we were all absolutely devastated.

“It took a month before we managed to get Steve back to the UK, spending Christmas and New Year without even a funeral date. But two years down the line, it’s still hard to get the image of Steve dying in front of me out of my head and I hope no one goes through a similar tragedy."

She said as well as increasing her fitness, she is running to raise funds for the charity’s life saving research into heart disease.

She added: “In a matter of moments, our lives changed forever."

To sponsor Jane visit www.justgiving.com/Jane-Matthews2016 .

To register for the Canary Wharf Jog visit www.bhf.org.uk/get-involved/events/runs/canary-wharf-jog.