A HEART attack victim has organised a fundraising golf tournament in York to say thank you to the paramedic who saved his life.

Richard Hunter, 56, of Navigation Road, York, collapsed at his home in January 2002 after suffering his third heart attack.

His wife Catherine rang 999 and Life-Cycle paramedic Mark Inman - who answers emergency calls on a custom-built mountain bike - arrived in under a minute. He stabilised Mr Hunter before an ambulance arrived to take him to York Hospital, where he made a good recovery.

Mr Hunter said he owes his life to the Life-Cycle project, which is run by Tees East and North Yorkshire Ambulance Service and is part-funded by voluntary donations. He has organised the golf tournament to show his gratitude.

All the proceeds from the event will be donated to the scheme, which was launched 20 months ago.

Mr Hunter said: "It's just my way of saying thank you to Mark for saving my life. He is such a wonderful guy and I have the highest admiration for him.

"The event will also give other people who have been helped by Mark the chance to get involved and give something back."

The tournament, which is being held on July 25 at Heworth Golf Club, will be sponsored by Dixon Renault in York.

Thirty teams of four are being recruited and the star prize is a Renault car for anyone who gets a hole in one.

Mr Inman has attended about 1,500 emergency calls, arriving first on the scene virtually 100 per cent of the time.

He said: "I really appreciate that Mr Hunter is putting in a tremendous amount of effort to organise such a large and prestigious event for which we are extremely grateful."

Anyone interested in supporting the tournament should phone Mr Hunter on 01904 638236.

Updated: 11:34 Wednesday, April 02, 2003