A FATHER who was clinically dead for 30 minutes has thanked the people in emergency services who 'brought him back to life'.

Liam Spires, aged 28, suffered a cardiac arrest, while asleep at home with his wife Marie and 13-month-old son Charlie.

The primary school teacher didn't know he had an irregular heartbeat known as QT syndrome, which triggered the medical emergency.

Emergency workers, including paramedics from North West Ambulance Service and firefighters from Atherton station worked for more than 30 minutes to revive Mr Spires who had to be given nine shocks with a defibrillator to make his heart start beating again.

More than a month on from the incident the Westhoughton father-of-one, who has had no lasting effects from the attack, has met with those who saved his life and said he "cannot thank them enough".

The Mytham School primary teacher, said: "I still can't believe how incredibly lucky I was. It feels like it is someone else's story.

"To say that I am thankful to the people who saved my life is the understatement of the century."

Mr Spires, of Albany Fold, began fitting in bed at around 5am. His wife woke up, called 999 and began CPR on her husband until emergency workers arrived.

But things could have turned out very differently.

Mr Spires said: "The reality is if I hadn't had a fit and woken Marie up, she would not have known I was having a cardiac arrest.

"Also this could have happened anywhere: when I was driving, in the house on my own. It was, looking back, an extremely fortunate course of events, that Marie was there and started CPR.

"There is no doubt that what she did and the emergency services did, saved my life."

Call handler Eileen Harris commended 27-year-old Mrs Spires her for the "fantastic job" she did.

Mrs Spires, who works in family support for children with disabilities, added: "It was obvious that he was very, very sick. He had gone grey and was frothing at the mouth.

"From calling the ambulance, the paramedics were there in six minutes.

"I thought he was dead. I could hear them using the defibrillator and I remember thinking 'there is no point' because I was so convinced he was dead."

Paramedic John Strivens and his team from NWAS were the first on the scene. He said: "There is an element of 'can we resolve this?' at the time and especially after nine shocks, that is quite a lot, but you have to keep trying."

He added: "You don't often get to follow through on jobs you have been on.

"It makes a big difference to see how much what we did means to the family and especially as a young guy like him with a young family.

Firefighters from Atherton station also attended, which is usual in the case of a suspected cardiac arrest, following a joint initiative with North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) and GMP Fire Service.

Firefighter Lloyd Watson said: "It is hard and it isn't just a job, when you walk in and see it is a young man and see his child in the next room completely unaware that his dad is dead in the other room, it becomes personal, I have my own children and it does hit you.

"I was stood there with my fingers crossed, hoping he would breathe again.

"It makes all the difference to see them again and it makes all the bad jobs more bearable when you see a happy result."

Firefighter Gary Massingham, who helped carry out CPR, added: "The fact that we have helped the little one keep his dad and keep the family together has been really good to see."

Mr Spiers, who has not yet returned to work, spent three days in intensive care and five days in Royal Bolton Hospital, following the attack and has now been given medication to steady his heart rate and has been fitted with an ICD device which electric pulses or shocks the heart to maintain a normal rhythm.

He is also working with charity CRY— cardiac risk in the young — and wants to encourages others to go for heart screening.

Mrs Spires added: "We will forever be in their debt.

"You cannot put a price on Charlie still having his dad and me still having my husband.

"With what happened he should have been dead, but he is here and to see him in such good health as well, we are just so lucky."