A dad-of-three has thanked ambulance staff who saved his life after he suffered 15 cardiac arrests in three hours.

Ian Clark, 52, was at his home in Elrick, Aberdeenshire on August 15 last year when he experienced his first cardiac arrest, terrifying his wife and youngest son.

While an ambulance crew from Huntly were on their way, his eldest son, 21-year-old Connon, performed CPR on him.

Ian had three cardiac arrests at his house, three in the ambulance and the rest at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, all in the space of two to three hours.

He said: "My wife called 999 - I had just finished my chicken and sweetcorn soup, and then I fell and caught my eye socket on the fireplace. That's when my heart stopped."

Once at hospital he was put in an induced coma, and the first thing he can remember is waking up in hospital.

He continued: "I thought I had been in a crash. I was coming out of the anesthetic, and I had a lot of pipes in.

"I wanted to cough, and all my ribs were broken. People were saying I had a cardiac arrest but it didn't mean anything to me."

The forklift driver said later while he was in hospital, he was taken aside by a doctor to explain what had happened.

Ian added: "He said what happened was very rare and I had to ask him around six times if he was sure.

"I was very, very emotional. I felt so lucky to be alive. It still gets me emotional today when I think about it. Someone was looking over me that day."

Ian had an implantable cardioverter defibrillator fitted to give him an electric shot in case his heart stops again.

"I am 100% thankful to the ambulance service staff. Very, very thankful for the small mercies," he said.

"I just want to thank everyone for helping me, the doctors, the nurses, paramedics.

"There's nothing in the world I could give back to them - they save my life.

"My heart just stopped. It's a miracle, definitely a miracle."

Ian returned home on August 29, where he is now recovering.

Ewan Murray from the Scottish Ambulance Service said: "It is great to hear Ian's story and how he was assisted by the crew at Huntly, and by the paramedic response unit from Aberdeen.

"Our staff, including our call handlers and dispatchers, are trained to deal with life-threatening situations on a daily basis and encounter man challenging incidents.

"They do it day-in, day out with no expectation any reward, so to get thanks from Ian, is wonderful to hear."