Simon Walker, 53, from Hyde, collapsed in Maggie Jackson’s Independent Dental Hygiene Service, in Tameside, Greater Manchester. He had a heart attack, but dental receptionist Charlotte Anderson-Hughes, 23, and her boss Chandra Metha brought him patient “back from the dead.” They performed CPR and used a defibrillator to shock his heart.

Charlotte Anderson-Hughes told Daily Mail that when the man collapsed, she and her boss put him in the recovery position but it didn’t work. “I was looking at him and he was clinically dead. He was going blue and his eyes were open. It was awful,” she said. “We got the defibrillator and used it twice. It was only then that we got a pulse.”

Charlotte Anderson-Hughes also said that they had done the first aid training but she never thought she would ever have to use it.

Simon Walker was taken to Wythenshawe Hospital and he is on his way to recovery. He says he doesn’t know how to thank the dentist and the receptionist for saving his life.

“How I can pay them back for what they did is impossible to say. I want to do something for them but I don't know what yet - I'll probably raise some money for more defibrillators around the town,” he said.

Maggie Jackson, who runs the practice, is friends with Simon Walker. “He's a friend of mine - so to have my staff save him was amazing. He was dead. He was clinically dead. Chandra did 15 minutes of chest compressions before they used the defibrillator - he's very fit.”

According to the General Dental Council guidelines, all dentists should have a defibrillator on site, but it is not a legal requirement.

“Saving somebody's life is priceless. Defibrillators are expensive equipment at around £1,000, but what's that for a life? It's without a doubt the best £1,000 I've ever spent. He was dead yesterday and alive today,” Maggie Jackson said.