A pensioner who stopped breathing after suffering a heart attack at Margate Football Club would not have survived if it had happened at his home, a senior medic has revealed.

The club’s doctor Jeff Ryder joined a team of paramedics already on duty at Hartsdown Road using the club’s defibrillator six times on the elderly fan to bring him back to life.

He was rushed to Margate’s Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother hospital by one of three ambulances sent to the emergency.

Dr Ryder said the man was “lucky” the attack had happened where equipment and medical expertise were on hand.

The drama unfolded at around 7.15pm on Friday when the man, believed to be in his 70s, collapsed as he made his way through one of the Hartsdown Road turnstiles.

Club media manager Ryan Day said: “It was quite apparent it was serious. The person on the turnstile alerted a steward and the club doctor. An ambulance was called but we already had ambulance people on the ground covering the game.

“They started working on him but he was probably dead They used the defibrillator six times and managed to bring him round. It was also lucky that he was taken to QEQM which is just down the road.

“It was one of the best places to have something like that happen with qualified people there to deal with it straight away.

“The defibrillator is kept in reception and we obtained it three years ago. I think this is the first time we have had to use it.”

The 7.30pm kick off for the Margate FC friendly against a Wolverhampton Wanderers under 21 squad was delayed until 7.50pm while medics battled to resuscitate the pensioner.

Fans who had witnessed the drama feared he would not survive, but they broke into spontaneous applause when it was announced he had recovered and was now on his way to hospital for urgent treatment.

Mr Day said he had asked the hospital to pass on the club’s best wishes to the man’s family.

South East Ambulance press spokesman Richard Airey said: “Just before 7.20pm we received a call that a man had collapsed at Margate Football Club in Hartsdown Road and was not breathing. Two ambulances and a car were sent to the scene and were later joined by another ambulance. There was also a doctor on scene who had started CPR.

“The man in his 70s had suffered a full cardiac arrest and was resuscitated at the scene and taken to QEQM. He was fully conscious when he arrived at hospital but his condition was serious. The action of the crews and the doctor gave him the best chance of survival.”

A defibrillator is a machine that delivers an electric shock to the heart when someone is having a cardiac arrest.

Former professional footballer Fabrice Muamba’s life was saved when he was given numerous defibrillator shocks after he suffered a heart attack during an FA Cup match between Bolton and Spurs in March 2012.