A family have praised the emergency services for their efforts after a grandmother suffered a fatal heart attack by the roadside.

Police, paramedics and the fire service were called to the incident in Chart Road at 9.15am yesterday after reports a woman suffered a cardiac arrest.

The woman, who has not been identified, was taken to the William Harvey Hospital in a life-threatening condition but sadly could not be saved.

An ambulance service spokesman said the woman had been travelling in a car but the vehicle had stopped following the medical episode.

SECAmb was called to the scene and alerted fire crews and police to help with the incident.

Today, her family issued a message of thanks to the teams who battled to save her.

They said: "We would like to thank the emergency services, William Harvey Hospital and members of the public.

"Thank you to Christine, a district nurse on her way to work who stopped to help.

"We are all devastated but we want to thank everyone for their hard work and efforts."