A HEART attack patient has described control room staff as guardian angels after they kept his spirits up while he waited for an ambulance.

Colin Hansell, 66, dialled 999 after he suffered an attack at night while alone at home in Sleights, near Whitby.

As an ambulance made its way from Whitby, Helen Phillips and Sharon Clothier, in the York control room 40 miles away, chatted and kept him calm.

Mr Hansell thanked the ambulance crew and tracked down the control room helpers.

He said: "The crew did a wonderful job, but so too did these two unsung heroines based miles away in York.

"They were my guardian angels in the few minutes before help arrived. They kept me going and that is why I so desperately wanted to thank them.

"They kept me talking and tried to keep me busy because they were afraid I might pass out.

"They told me to put the lights on and unlock my front door, which I just managed to do, in preparation for the arrival of the crew.

"I can still recall one of them saying the ambulance was only four minutes away; it seemed like a lifetime to me.

"They were wonderful."

Ms Clothier said: "It was lovely when Colin came in to say thank you.

"It was my colleague, Helen, who took the original call and then I took his second call, by which time his condition had deteriorated.

"Despite being so ill, he was lovely and really sweet throughout."