A dad has been hailed as a hero after he saved the life of a pensioner who suffered a heart attack at the wheel and crashed his car.

David Charles, 37, rushed to the rescue after he saw the OAP's vehicle ploughing into a parked car and then hitting a wall.

David, who works for Morrison Telecom Services, used his first aid training to act quickly and find a nearby defibrillator which he used to shock the senior citizen, 89, back to life.

Glasgow Times:

Thanks to his intervention, the man has now made a full recovery and has sent a poignant thank-you message to David, who had only just returned to work after two weeks paternity leave in November.

David, from Greenock, said: "When I got over to the driver he was chalk white and at first I thought he was dead.

"I've done a lot of health and safety courses and I saw him gasping and I knew right away he was fighting for his life.

"I'd heard a bang and turned round and the man's car was pushing a parked car, it hit the kerb, then crashed into a wall.

"I was at the car within a minute.

"It was an automatic and the man's foot was still on the accelerator.

"He was slumped over with his chin on his chest.

"I think if I hadn't had my first aid training I would have froze.

"I knew it was most likely that he'd had a heart attack and that it was life or death.

"I managed to lift the man out of the car and I was doing CPR but it wasn't really working."

David was working alongside new colleague, 21-year-old Fergus Sharp and the pair worked calmly as a team to save the man.

As Fergus rang for an ambulance as David summoned a defib from nearby.

He said: "We were working near the Glennon Brothers sawmill in Troon and I shouted over to ask if they had a defibrillator and they came straight over with it.

"I had never used one before but it tells you what to do and Fergus was on the phone to the ambulance.

"It gave him two shocks and was counting down to a third when the ambulance arrived.

"The paramedics hooked him up to their machinery and they managed to get a heart rate."

Paramedics later confirmed that if David hasn't used the defibrillator, the man wouldn't have survived.

The gentleman, who doesn't want to be named, was initially airlifted to Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride and later transferred to Ayr Hospital and he is now back home.

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David who lives with wife Lisa and children, Darcy, 10, Eden, seven, and son Rio, six weeks, said he was so relieved to find out the man had made it.

He said: "He was in hospital for a good while and it had been preying on my mind.

"I couldn't get the picture of his face out of my head."

David was taken aback last week when the man's friend's daughter emailed his company so he could thank him personally and he and Fergus have now arranged to go out to see him.

He said: "I was so happy to speak to him.

"He said 'hello David - the man who saved my life. I'm the luckiest man in Scotland, I'll get another Christmas!'.

"We spoke for ages on the phone, it was as if I had known him for years.

"I was buzzing the whole day.

"I was on such a high after hearing that and when I told my wife she was crying."

He says that he has been overwhelmed at all the attention he has received following his lifesaving mission.

He said: "My phone hasn't stopped ringing - it been mad.

"But I only did what anyone else would.

"I'm getting all the banter from my workmates, all the 'not all heroes wear capes' chat.

"My company are sticklers for health and safety training and it shows how important it is to have these skills - and how vital a defibrillator is.

"Fergus was brilliant, he told me he felt he didn't do anything but he was on the phone to the ambulance and police."

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David is now looking forward to an extra special Christmas with his new baby son and his girls.

He said: "It will be a nice story to tell Rio when he is older.

"It's also going to be special knowing that the man has another Christmas with his friends and family.

"It will be really emotional when we go and see him."