A Norfolk man who collapsed on a beach and suffered multiple seizures has been reunited with the medical teams that helped save his life.

Mark Youles, 46, a type one diabetic from Garvestone, near Dereham, collapsed while on a camping trip near Southwold this summer.

But on the morning of July 24, Mr Youles was taken ill with an unusually severe hypoglycaemic episode.

An ambulance was called and he started to feel better after he was given a glucose drip.

The group then decided to go for a walk on Southwold seafront.

Shortly after reaching the beach, Mr Youles collapsed and became seriously unwell, suffering a number of seizures.

A RNLI lifeguard was first on scene and gave Mr Youles oxygen.

A volunteer critical care team from Suffolk Accident Rescue Service (SARS), working alongside paramedics then treated Mr Youles on the beach.

They stabilised his condition before requesting an East Anglian Air Ambulance to take him to James Paget Hospital in Great Yarmouth.

Mr Youles was diagnosed with a brain haemorrhage and taken into intensive care — later being transferred to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge for further tests.

Last week, Mr Youles and his family met the medical teams that helped save his life at the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) Norwich base — allowing him to thank them in person.

Mr Youles said: “This event, kindly arranged by EAAA and SARS has enabled my children to turn an otherwise very scary and unpleasant experience into one that is now filled with happy, positive memories.

"One of my main focal points now is to raise awareness that both EAAA and SARS are dependent upon donation-based funding.

"Prior to this incident I was myself naively unaware that such services weren’t directly funded by the NHS, with none us knowing if, or when, any of us may ever actually need them."

Volunteer Doctor James Price, who was part of the SARS team at the scene, said: “Having the opportunity to meet Mark and his family and to see him doing so well was extremely rewarding.

"His case was particularly complex due to the extremely challenging environment on the beach. We were glad to be able to work together with our Coastguard, Ambulance and EAAA colleagues to give Mark the very best chance of survival."