A CLEANER has been hailed a hero after he helped to save a man he found unconscious in public toilets.

Antony Luck, a Tendring Council cleaner, reacted quickly when he made the discovery, shutting off the toilets to the public and immediately calling the emergency services.

The cleaner, who has worked for the council for a year, stayed with the man until help arrived from the ambulance service.

The ambulance crew was able to stabilise the man and get him to hospital.

The team and Essex Police praised Antony, 29, for his quick thinking and lifesaving actions.

He found the man unconscious in the public toilets at Pier Gap, Clacton, on Tuesday, October 9.

“As soon as I saw this man I knew he needed help, and I just acted on instinct really,” he said.

“I didn’t think much of it at the time, but when the emergency services said they’d ‘brought him back from the brink’ and that if I hadn’t have reacted so quickly he might have died, it sunk in.

“I didn’t do anything special, and I’d like to think that anyone who came across this chap would have done the same thing.”

Mick Skeels, councillor responsible for public toilets, added his praise for Antony.

“Antony’s actions were heroic and I would like to thank him for what he did,” he said.

“I am immensely proud of him, and people such as Antony typify the great team of staff we have working for the council.”