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Heartless commuters at Herne Bay station step over man after he suffers heart attack

Stairs at Herne Bay station
Stairs at Herne Bay station

Commuters stepped over a man as he lay sprawled on a train station stairway after suffering a heart attack today.

People rushing to get to work ignored the stricken passenger after he collapsed at the station in Herne Bay at 7.45am.

Harry Blatchford, who runs a cafe on the seafront, had just got off the train from Broadstairs when he saw the man fall to the ground.

The 48-year-old said: "The guy seemed to fall in slow motion. He was gripping the handrail at the top of the stairs and fell in stages before hitting his head.

"He began fitting and gasping for breath and was sprawled across the stairs, blocking the walkway.

"Another man and I put him into the recovery position and called an ambulance.

"His breathing then stopped and his pallor changed, he looked grey, so the other man began CPR while I alerted the station master.

"I thought he was dead. He had stopped breathing and his face had changed colour. I only found out later that he had been resuscitated."

Herne Bay station in Gordon Road
Herne Bay station in Gordon Road

Mr Blatchford added: "I just did what anyone else would have done. Lots of commuters stepped over him.

"They know who they are and they should be ashamed of themselves.

"They didn't want to miss their train and just stepped over his body, which I thought was disgusting."

Harry Blatchford, who runs a cafe on Herne Bay seafront
Harry Blatchford, who runs a cafe on Herne Bay seafront

An ambulance crew arrived within three minutes and resuscitated the man, who is believed to be in his early 40s.

He was taken to hospital, but his current condition is not yet known.

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