ERIC Rowsby looked like a man who had taken his last breath. His heart had stopped beating and he appeared to have died.

Thanks to the skill, vigilance and dedication of two paramedics, Eric is still alive and is recovering from his near-fatal ordeal.

John Jankee and Stuart Wood answered the 999 call and found Eric collapsed in a chair at his home in Norton.

There could be no better example of the knife-edge work done by paramedics, who daily patrol the line between life and death.

Updated: 09:52 Friday, August 27, 2004