A man who collapsed while playing golf has thanked the air ambulance for saving his life as he shares his story for the first time.

Graham Beswick, from Greenhithe, took part in Hound Hike 100, an event organised by the Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS) which provided life-saving treatment after he suffered a cardiac arrest.

Fundraisers like Graham pledged to walk 100km or 100 miles with their dogs. Graham took part with his sproodle Betty who he said has helped overcome his anxiety since he "died for 23 minutes".

Graham had been taking part in a society golf day when he collapsed at Upchurch Valley Golf Club in September 2018.

He said: "I didn’t realise at the time but I was suffering a sudden cardiac arrest.

"My fellow golfers called the emergency services and I could hear voices telling me help was on the way. Through watery vision, I remember seeing two green-suited paramedics from SECAmb. They were first on the scene, taking over from my brother, who had been administering CPR.

"The crew from KSS quickly followed, and a paramedic in a red jumpsuit told me I was being taken immediately to the William Harvey Hospital at Ashford."

It was discovered Graham has Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, a genetic heart condition caused by an extra electrical pathway in the heart that can lead to periods of rapid heart rate and bring on a sudden cardiac arrest.

After nine days in hospital, he was taken to St Thomas' in London for a heart ablation surgery to correct the fault before returning home.

He had rehabilitation treatment at Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford as well as cardio psychology support at King’s College Hospital in London after suffering with panic attacks before returning to work four months later.

He said: "It’s still tough to think back to that day in Upchurch. The paramedics later told me I’d actually died for 23 minutes. Without their help and without the KSS crew, I wouldn’t be here today.

"It will be four years in September, since I suffered my out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. It was a day that brought KSS into my life, along with some big changes. Since then the whole world has changed, with everyone suffering due to Covid one way or another but dealing with it as best as we can.

"For us, getting our dog Betty a year-and-a-half ago has become a massive plus to me especially, and my wife Sarah. She is coming up to six years old and I’d like to think that we have made Betty’s life better, just as much has she has helped me deal with my anxiety woes since that eventful day."

It is the second time Graham and Betty, along with Graham's wife Sarah, have taken part in Hound Hike 100.

This year, more than 100 joined the challenge, walking more than 10,200 miles and raising £17,000.

Graham added: “I want to do whatever I can to help KSS so I always try to take part in their fundraising challenges.

"We took part in Hound Hike 100 last year and have done KSS’s Run 31 fundraisers too.

"We ended up walking about 140k as part of this year’s Hound Hike 100 and we really enjoyed it.

"Instead of doing our usual dog walks in the local park, we planned longer routes and ended up exploring different parts of Kent and discovering beautiful new places.

“It was also great to be part of the Hound Hike 100 Facebook community which KSS set up. This was a really supportive group for people doing this challenge.

"Sarah and I posted an invitation for Hound Hike 100 participants to meet for a walk in Tunbridge Wells and about 16 people and 10 dogs attended which was fantastic."

Lauren Simmons, head of events at KSS, said: "On behalf of Team KSS, a huge thank you to everyone who took part in Hound Hike 100, and to Gatwick Airport who kindly sponsored this event.”

“We could not do what we do without the support of our local community, and there is an increasing demand for our service. Last year was our busiest year in our 32-year history, and already this year we have responded to over 1,194 incidents, delivering life-saving critical care to those in urgent medical need."