A Norwich electrician who was brought back from the dead a staggering 31 times in less than an hour has thanked the paramedics who refused to let him die.

Derek Jones, who celebrated his 55th birthday yesterday, astonished medics by surviving a series of potentially fatal heart attacks after being taken ill at work .

The grandfather-of-two, who lives in Hellesdon, was on his way to an electrical job in Sheringham when he began to feel unwell.

“I had a pain down the front of my chest and felt really hot. By the time I got to Sheringham, I felt terrible. I met my friend Martin (Baldry) at the job, he took one look at me and called the ambulance,” said Derek, who has two daughters, Katrina, 30, and Melissa, 24.

“I didn't have a clue what was happening to me, I thought it was something to do with a neck problem I've got. It didn't even cross my mind that I was having a heart attack.”