A PUB landlord and his customers battled to save a York pensioner after he collapsed with a heart attack.

The elderly man fell ill in the car park of the Stockton-on-the-Forest Inn, in Malton Road, York, last night.

Manager Stephen Sharples, who is fully trained in first aid, attempted cardio-pulmonary resuscitation - aided by several customers - until an ambulance arrived.

But the man, believed to be in his 70s and from Huntington, was later pronounced dead at York District Hospital.

He is understood to have been due to spend the evening with his wife and friends at the pub.

Bar manager Steve Innocent said: "It's very, very sad. Everybody is absolutely gutted."

He said someone had come running into the pub, saying that a man had collapsed in the car park.

The manager had run out to try to save the pensioner, while the man's distraught wife had been taken into the pub to be comforted.

"I felt so sorry for her," said Mr Innocent.

He said he understood that the man had suffered two previous heart attacks, as well as angina.

The pub had remained open afterwards, although distressed staff had not felt like continuing to work.

Updated: 15:29 Tuesday, July 10, 2001