Shocked onlookers who rushed to save a man who had collapsed in a popular Marlow park have questioned why they were denied the access code to the newly installed community defibrillator.

A man, believed to be in his 40s, was walking with his young child in Higginson Park on Saturday (March 19) when he reportedly collapsed following a heart attack according to eyewitnesses.

Three passers by – one of whom was a doctor – rushed to his assistance and began to administer CPR while onlookers took care of his son.

Just last month a £2500 community defibrillator was installed next to Costa to be used by the public with situations like this in mind.

According to the British Heart Foundation the rate of survival following a cardiac arrest decreases by 10 percent per minute.

If an emergency situation arises someone must call 999 in order to gain an access code to the defibrillator box, which will then issue guidance on how to use the equipment.

However when a Costa customer dialled 999, the call handler said they were unable to give the code out.

Manager of Costa, Armona Brindus watched the chaos unfold, saying: “One of the customers called to ask for the code but they would not give it to her. When I asked the police why someone could not give us the access code they said they could not give it to everyone. It wasn’t made completely clear why it was not given out.”

Former NHS worker and Marlow resident Bridget Nuttall, helped administer CPR to the man, and said it was “nonsense” that they were unable to get their hands on the equipment.

She said: “I had just been for a run and Costa staff approached me and asked if I knew how to use the defibrillator.

“We legged it down to the maze and a man had had a cardiac arrest. We ran down and someone was already working on the man’s chest and I kept his airways clear.

“He was choking on his tongue so I was holding it and someone else was performing CPR on his chest.

“When the lady who dialled 999 got through to the ambulance service said they would not give out the code which is utter nonsense."

Eyewitnesses said that paramedics revived the man with one shock from a defibrillator, although South Central Ambulance Service are yet to confirm the cause of collapse and his current condition.

Community Heartbeat Trust– a charity which provides defibrillators to communities – has confirmed that the defibrillator is active and on South Central Ambulance Service’s system.

However a spokesperson said there are a number of checks that call handlers must go through before revealing the access code and an investigation will be carried out alongside SCAC in to why it was not given out at this time.

Martin Fagan, secretary of the charity, said: “There could have been several reasons for this, one of which could have been the 999 call operator was not a SCAS call centre.

“Activation of community defibrillators follows a set procedure with most ambulance services. A call is made to 999, and the call operator will triage the situation and if appropriate activate the defibrillator.

“This is done for as much security as correct usage of the defibrillator.”