A man who spent a week in a coma after he collapsed off the back of a lorry in Canterbury wants to find the police officer who saved his life.

Stephen Fursse, 64, was completing a delivery of kitchen units to a shop in Palace Street when he suffered a heart attack and fell off the truck.

A police officer was first to the scene and performed CPR on Mr Fursse, which paramedics believe was crucial to saving his life.

Mr Fursse said: "I was on the rear of my vehicle then just fell. My heart beat started to go erratic, and that's all I remember.

"It was scary because I'm 64 and always thought I had been physically fit. I never worried about the manual work, and when I was younger I was a sportsman and football league referee. For that to happen was quite a shock."

He was airlifted to King's College Hospital on June 30 and was in a coma for five days. He only woke up on the day his daughter Katy, 20, had been due to marry her fiancé Chris West.

They were forced to cancel the wedding as they worried about whether he would make it through quadruple bypass surgery.

Katy Fursse said: "We didn't know what had happened at first, we had to travel to London.

"The nurse said if he hadn't had CPR he wouldn't have got to the hospital alive. I'm so thankful that they saved his life, otherwise I wouldn't have had my dad to walk me up the aisle."

Mr Fursse, who has been a lorry driver for 35 years and was due to retire in September, is now recovering, and Katie and Chris have re-booked their wedding for October.

He added: "I was confused when I woke up in hospital and didn't know where I was. But I'm getting stronger and stronger every day. I've had a pacemaker put in which has helped quite a bit. I want to thank the police and ambulance for everything they have done.

"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them. It has given me another chance to see my family, and to give my daughter away in marriage. It's a second chance in life. I've had a granddaughter who is 12 months old, and I will get the chance to see her grow up."

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