'Dead' for 80 minutes

A Northampton man was brought back to life by surgeons after his heart stopped for an hour and 20 minutes.

Mechanic John Thomson suffered a massive heart attack at his home in May.

He was clinically dead for longer than football star Fabrice Muamba but first paramedics, and then hospital staff, refused to give up on him.

A heart attack victim who was clinically dead for more than an hour is recovering thanks to life-saving surgery by doctors at Northampton General Hospital.

60-year-old John Thomson from Northampton dialled 999 when he started having chest pains which led to a cardiac arrest. His heart had stopped for around 80 minutes by the time surgeons were able to unblock a blood vessel and resuscitate him. He's now thanked the hospital for saving his life.