A MARTIAL arts trainer has been hailed a hero for the second time in six months after spotting a man unconscious in the road.

Danny Buzotta, 39, who runs TSG martial arts school, initially thought the man he found near his home in Carlingford Drive, Westcliff, was dead.

He spotted the man while driving home at about 11.45pm on Monday night, having swerved to avoid what had looked like a bin bag in the road. As he passed, he realised it was a man, so he turned back and went to the 35-yearold man’s aid.

Mr Buzotta, who also runs the Il Pescatore Italian restaurant, in Queens Road, Southend, said: “When I got to him he was so cold I thought he was dead.

“I put him in the recovery position, then dialled 999. I couldn’t find a pulse, but then I noticed a very faint breathing.”

The man had a hospital ID bracelet on his wrist.

Mr Buzotta added: “I put my hoodie on him and waited for the paramedics to arrive. They couldn’t wake him. He was alive, but not responding.

“It was really shocking. If I hadn’t seen him, or someone had been coming the other way, he might have been run over.

The paramedics said I had saved his life.”

The ambulance Service was were called at 11.50pm and had two rapid response cars on the scene within 90 seconds and an ambulance shortly after.

They took the man to Southend Hospital. It is not clear if he had been previously been in the hospital, as officials had no reports of any missing patients.

About six months ago, Mr Buzotta came to the aid of another man he found lying in Valkyrie Road, Southend.

He said: “A lot of people walk away from things like this, but I couldn’t live with myself.

“Life isn’t just about going out and earning money.

Helping people is the main priority in life.

“The first thing I did when I got in was look at my children and think that man could have been someone’s father or son.”

 

AN ICE cream man came to the rescue when an elderly man fell and hit his head on a wall in front of his van.

John Peters helped the 95- year-old man after he fell in Derek Gardens, Westcliff.

The injured man was on his way to buy an ice cream from the van, but fell and suffered a head injury and severe cuts on his arms.

Mr Peters, 46, of Lower Road, Hockley, a former London Underground supervisor, said: “I saw this elderly man come out from his house and collapse in front of my van. There was a 3ft brick wall behind him and he hit his head on the corner of it and was knocked unconscious.

“I jumped out of the van and neighbours came out, so I asked them to call an ambulance.

He was bleeding badly from his elbow and hand and when he came round, was in pain from a hip injury.

“I just kept him comfortable and kept pressure on his wounds until the ambulance arrived.

“I was used to dealing with emergencies as a first-aider on the Underground. I saw all sorts and saved quite a few lives doing CPR and stopping people jumping in front of trains.

“I became an ice cream man for a quieter life.”