AN Andover pensioner has praised the hero passers-by who sprung into action to help his stricken wife after she suffered a fit in the middle of a busy road.

Neil Lambourne, 65, was crossing Mylen Road with wife Linda when she suddenly started having a seizure.

Grandmother-of-three Linda, 64, dropped to the floor in the middle of the street during the morning rush hour, leaving her husband frozen with fear.

But a female stranger leapt to Linda’s aid, placing her in the recovery position while other members of the public rang for an ambulance and stopped traffic as she received assistance.

Now the grateful couple from Newtown Close have contacted the Andover Advertiser to say a heartfelt thank you to the members of the community and hospital staff who helped them.

Neil, a retired sales manager, said: “We were in the middle of the road and out of the blue Linda went straight down like a sack of coal.

“I thought she had collapsed with a heart attack or something, I didn’t know what to do. “When something like this happens so suddenly you don’t think logically, your mind goes blank.

“A lady stopped to help us, she took control and put Linda in the recovery position and another gentleman used his mobile phone to call the ambulance.

“There were several other people, a lorry driver and motorists.

As she landed in the middle of the road they had to stop and people were directing traffic to give the ambulance room.

“Without their help I don’t know what I would have done.”

Ambulance crews arrived on the scene within minutes of the incident, which happened at around 9am on Wednesday, October 1, before rushing Linda to Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester.

She spent two days undergoing scans and tests following the mystery fit but is still unsure as to what caused the attack.

Retired care manager Linda said: “I can’t really remember going across the road. The next thing I remember is waking up in the ambulance with someone saying we were in Sutton Scotney.

“I am very grateful for what everyone did.

“As a nurse I was always taught to give as much dignity to my patients as possible and, as far as I can tell, dignity was given to me at all times.

“The staff at Winchester made a difficult situation a lot easier.

“But at the moment I don’t really know what the diagnosis is and I have got to have a scan and a follow up with the neurologist.

“It is worrying that this might happen again.”

Neil and Linda had just returned from a holiday to Majorca and were making plans to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary next year.

But Neil admits the incident may force them to rethink their plans, because it has “turned our lives upside down.”

He added: “It has just changed the way we look at life and given me a different outlook of other people as well.

“When we really needed something, people were prepared to help us.

“It showed public spiritedness and that is the sort of thing that doesn’t get enough mention in the press.

“This can happen to anyone at any moment and we were lucky we were where we were when it happened.”