A MAN whose heart stopped for more than 10 minutes during the Pogues set in Hyde Park on Saturday night is hoping to seek out and thank the audience member he believes saved his life.
Andrew Plank suffered a heart attack during the band's set in Hyde Park, London, where they were supporting The Libertines.
He was saved after a quick thinking stranger in the audience performed CPR on him before alerting the paramedics.
They were then able to revive Mr Plank with a defibrillator as The Pogues stopped their set mid-song in order to alert the crowd to let the paramedics through.
Mr Plank, 46, is from Marlborough in the West Country and is now recovering in Guy's and St Thomas Hospital in Westminster.
His nephew-in law, Lloyd Smith, told The Irish Post how he now wants to meet the fan that saved him in order to express his gratitude.
Mr Smith said: "Andrew is my wife's uncle, who she's very close to. He travelled up to London for the Pogues on Saturday and had a heart attack at the front of the crowd during the gig.
"From what we've been told by the hospital, there was a stranger in the crowd who performed CPR for 10 minutes and it's down to the fact that he performed CPR that we've still got my wife's uncle. His heart stopped for those 10 minutes but thanks to this bloke the paramedics were able to revive him.
"So obviously we're very keen to just do as much as we can to reach out to this stranger and to say thank you and express our gratitude to this amazing person.
"There's not many people who are confident enough in a practice scenario to do CPR, let alone be in a festival scenario where they've possibly had a drink or two, are having a good time, and then all of a sudden this event happens. To be able to act selflessly, immediately, is just incredible.
"When you hear the day to day horror stories in the news, it's just wonderful to know that there are people out there who care about their fellow human beings and we'd just like to thank them and let them know that they are a special person and appreciated by our whole family."
Mr Smith added that the family had been expecting the worst when his uncle-in-law woke up but that thankfully he is recovering well.
He said: "Andrew doesn't remember collapsing or what happened at the time but he back talking and he's recognising people, all thanks to what that bloke did."
Mr Smith joked that Andrew's biggest concern was the loss of his favourite Pogues' T-shirt. He said: "He's a long-time fan of The Pogues. When he woke up, he asked where his T-shirt was and the paramedics had cut it off. It's his favourite T-shirt and he was more angry about losing his favourite Pogues T-shirt than anything!"
The Pogues have also sent their best wishes to Mr Plank. Posting on Twitter the band said: "The Pogues want to send out good wishes to the young man who had to be pulled from the crowd last night. Thinking of him & wishing him well."
Are you the good Samaritan who helped save Mr Plank at The Pogues show in Hyde Park? If so, his family would love to say 'thank you'. Please contact steve.cummins@http://http://irishpost.co.uk
The Pogues want to send out good wishes to the young man who had to be pulled from the crowd last night. Thinking of him & wishing him well.
— The Pogues (@poguesofficial) July 6, 2014
