BBC commentator thanks Cardiff City legend for saving him after heart attack scare

A football commentator has thanked Nathan Blake for saving him when he had a suspected heart attack after a game.

Rob Phillips had just finished covering Cardiff City's last-gasp defeat to Bolton earlier this month, when he started experiencing severe chest pains.

He intended to drive home to south Wales from the Greater Manchester town, but club legend Blake stepped in and said he wasn't going anywhere, seeing that he had lost all his colour.

Veteran commentator Phillips was still laughing and joking when he was taken to see the Bolton club doctor, who casually told him: "I think you're having a heart attack."

Blake, who played 131 times for City as well as winning 29 Wales caps, credited his actions to his mum's nurse training.

The 54-year-old, who also played for clubs including Sheffield United, Bolton Wanderers, Blackburn Rovers and Wolves, said: "She always used to say to me 'if someone loses colour like that call an ambulance'."

It had been business as usual for Phillips alongside him in the commentary box, as Cardiff lost "having played really well", he told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

Thierry Gale had scored a 90th-minute header at the Toughsheet Community Stadium in the Championship match, and after completing the post-match interviews, Phillips said he started "having severe chest pains" as he got back to the press box.

He added: "I said to Nath 'I'll be fine now', but he told me I'd lost all my colour."

Phillips said he was still laughing and joking around when he was taken to see the Bolton club doctor, adding: "He casually said to me 'Rob, I can't be sure, but I think you're having a heart attack'."

Within an hour he was on an operating table with a pipe up his arm, as doctors tried to unblock his artery.

Phillips praised the Bolton club doctor David Humphreys, saying he "can't thank him enough".

"The moral of the tale is if you're going to have a heart problem like I had, have it in a football club, because they've got people on hand who know what to do," he joked.

Phillips and his partner were planning to attend the Wales Nations League match against Portugal which would have been his first as a fan in "40-odd years".

But he instead had to settle for a seat on the sofa as the country slumped to a defeat in Lisbon.

Phillips said he was "really fortunate" to be so well looked after following the incident.

"My family have been great. Elin, my partner, has been magnificent as well," he added.

Speaking on the Rob and Blakey's Commentary Box podcast, Phillips thanked his co-commentator for his help that day.

"It's alright mate that's what friends are for," Blake replied.

Phillips thanked his "bro", saying without him, he "might not even be here".

The NHS said you should call 999 if you have any symptoms including chest pain, shortness of breath or a feeling of indigestion.

They also advised people to look for pale, blue or grey skin which may be easier to see on the palms of the person's hands.