A MAN who died in a Lidl car park after suffering a heart attack waited five hours for paramedics, an inquest has heard.

Martin Coleman, 54, was found outside the supermarket in Taverham, Norfolk, during the early hours of July 1 last year.

The handyman pulled into the car park around 10.15pm with chests pains and heart palpitations.

He then called 999 himself before waiting hours for an ambulance to arrive, a court heard.

Martin told the call handler: "I think I am having a heart attack."

Despite being just 15 minutes away from the biggest hospital in the area, the NHS was on 'black alert' and had no ambulances available.

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The handler tried calling Martin back around 11.15pm but wasn't able to get through.

Medics then arrived around 3.30am to find the dad dead in his car.

He had reclined his chair and was lying down after being told to make himself comfortable.

His daughter, Roxanne, told the inquest: "My dad was a strong, proud man who would only call for an ambulance if he really needed it.

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"I loved him more than life itself. I greatly admired his desire to help anybody.

"He was so much more than a father and a grandfather. He is not going to be a statistic, he is a human being who is missed and loved more than anything."

Chris Hewitson, patient safety manager at the East of England Ambulance Service, said there wasn't a single ambulance available at the time and there wasn't any community first responders available.

Yvonne Blake, area coroner for Norfolk, concluded that Mr Coleman had died of a heart attack – but that she could not give a precise time of his death.

Heart attacks are the second most urgent type of call and are aimed to be responded to within 40 minutes.

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