A Covid survivor has shared how he spent two weeks “knocking on heaven's doors” as he battled the deadly virus in hospital.

Joe Lane, 57, from Billericay, spent just under two weeks in Basildon hospital after catching Covid-19 and pneumonia.

To mark one year on from the lockdown announcement on the National Day of Reflection, Joe is sharing his Covid experience as he pays special thanks to the NHS staff who saved his life.

Joe said: “I wasn’t feeling too good around March 17 last year. I said to my wife I didn’t feel well but put it down to the flu.

“I dialled 111 a few times and each time they said I didn’t have Covid because I didn’t have a cough.

“By the weekend I was really, really ill – so much so I went to bed on the Sunday afternoon which is unheard of for me.

“The next thing I knew two ambulance people were trying to get me out of bed.

“It transpired that I had pneumonia as well as Covid.”

Joe tested positive for Covid at the start of the outbreak.

He stayed in a separated unit in the hospital for Covid patients.

Joe said: “As soon as I went in I was tested. I was really really ill.

“It was very scary. You’ve got people around you that are passing away.

“You’re scared to go to sleep wondering if you will wake up. It’s just terrifying.

“My heart rate was shooting up then shooting down.

“I was on double oxygen on a mask and through the nose because I just couldn’t get enough.”

Joe relived the moment a nurse advised him to speak to a priest.

He added: “It was really touch and go at one point.

“One of the nurses came into me and said the priest was here and she really thought I should see him.

“The way I felt at the time was that it was probably it. I had a chat with my mum who died years ago and my brother, but it may well have been a dream.”

Joe has praised hospital staff for all their work throughout the pandemic saving his life and the lives of others.

He added: “One of the nurses I knew as Becky. At one point they were getting me ready for intensive care because they couldn’t give me more oxygen but she got me back around. She’s a little star.

“The stuff they were going through. It was terrifying for them because it was all new.

“Every day I think about how good they were. Without a doubt they saved my life.”