A PERSHORE man says reports of his death have been “greatly exaggerated” after he was carried off by ambulance during a charity open garden event.

Retired vet Roger Martin, aged 78, was welcoming visitors to his Station Road garden on Saturday when he suddenly found himself unable to speak. It later turned out he had suffered a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) - often known as a 'mini stroke'.

“It was very strange, I just couldn’t get the words out,” he said.

Equally confused, his wife Wendy called the NHS non-emergency number 111 to seek advice.

Upon hearing of the symptoms, an ambulance was immediately dispatched.

Paramedics quickly recognised the symptoms of a TIA and took Mr Martin to Worcestershire Royal Hospital, in Worcester.

“I’d like to thank everybody who looked after me,” said Mr Martin, who is now back at home and recovering.

“The care from the ambulance crew and everybody at the hospital was above and beyond."

He added that there were no warning signs of the attack.

“I think perhaps I’d been overdoing it in the garden,” he said. “But it came out of the blue.”

NHS advice on TIAs is summarised by acronym 'FAST', which stands for: Face – the face may have dropped on one side, the person may not be able to smile, or their mouth or eye may have dropped.

Arms – the person may not be able to lift both arms and keep them there because of arm weakness or numbness in one arm.

Speech – their speech may be slurred or garbled, or the person may not be able to talk at all, despite appearing to be awake.

Time – it is time to dial 999 immediately if you see any of these signs or symptoms.

Mrs Martin said she was aware of this advice from when she cared for her elderly father, but had been thrown off scent by the lack of any change to her husband’s face and arms.

“If I’d realised that not all the symptoms needed to appear together, I would have phoned 999 much sooner," she said.

Despite the emergency, Mr Martin’s sons David and Mathew continued to welcome visitors to the NGS Pershore Open Gardens weekend, which featured 19 other gardens throughout the town on Saturday and Sunday.

Proceeds from the event are still being counted.