THE son of an Atherton man who almost died from a cardiac arrest has vowed to raise £3,000 for heart charities.

Danny Meakin, aged 33, is running the London Marathon in April on behalf of Heart Research UK and Arrhythmia Alliance.

His 57-year-old father Alan is a fitness instructor so when he suffered a sudden heart attack and subsequent cardiac arrest in June last year it came as a massive shock to his family.

Thankfully he is now close to making a full recovery but the family want to raise awareness of the importance of research, defibrillators and timely CPR to helping people survive heart attacks.

Danny describes the recovery of his father — who now goes cycling most weekends and is back at work — as a “miracle”.

Alan had complained of bad heart burn the night before he suffered a cardiac arrest while at work.

He was given CPR and linked up to a defibrillator machine before being rushed to Manchester Royal Infirmary.

Danny said: “If my dad had stayed at home alone he would not be here now.

“Likewise, if he had gone to hospital the night before an ECG would have picked up his heart attack and the cardiac arrest would probably have been avoided.

Just three months earlier, Alan had completed the New York half marathon with Danny, who added: “It was an absolute shock for us as he lived his life for sport and keeping in shape.”

“My dad benefitted from CPR and a defibrillator during the five to six minute period when people need help to prevent their brains being starved of oxygen.”

Danny, a medical devices specialist from Westhoughton, aims to complete the marathon in less than three hours and 15 minutes and is organising a fundraising evening at Leigh Sports Village on March 29 where there will games and auctions to help boost his total.

To donate to Danny visit www.justgiving.com/Daniel-Meakin1.