A woman who collapsed from heart failure at Thaxted Morris festival last month is on the road to recovery following triple bypass surgery.

Gaynor Bazley, 69, and her husband Ken have returned home to the Welsh village of Northop Hall after weeks of procedures at Essex Cardiothoracic Centre at Basildon University Hospital.

The couple were visiting Thaxted with the Chester City Morris Ring of which Mr Bazley, 69, is a member, when Mrs Bazley suffered a heartattack.

Mr Bazley was in Duxford on a tour of traditional Essex pubs when he received the news his wife had been airlifted to hospital.

“The only news I got was that she had tripped up and banged her face,” he said.

“Because of her heart problems in the past it’s always in the back of your mind, even though she had been fine for 19 years.

“I just missed the helicopter but there was a police lady waiting for me in Thaxted and she took me all the way to Basildon with the sirens going.”

After a week of treatment to stabilise her condition Mrs Bazley received triple bypass surgery on June 8. The couple finally made it home to Wales last Thursday (June 18) where she is recovering well.

“I walked down the corridors in full Morris gear,” Mr Bazley added, “Which was remembered in weeks to come.

“Gaynor’s outlook is now very good indeed and it’s probably better then it was for the last 19 years because technology has moved forward so much.

“She has been very positive all the way through. We are very relieved to be back home and she is walking around the garden several times a day.”

Both are very grateful to Thaxted fire crew and student paramedic Sonal Shah, whose swift actions at the scene saved Mrs Bazley’s life.