Hibs fan ‘died’ on the pitch after suffering heart attack when ball was blasted into his privates before physio brought him back to life

A HIBS fan was brought back from the brink of death after suffering a heart attack when a football hit him in the goolies.

Paul Burns was having a kickabout with friends when a rogue shot hit him in the groin at the Hibernian Football Club training ground.

The 55-year-old, from Edinburgh, collapsed to the ground and "died" on the pitch.

Paul's was saved by the quick thinking actions of a former Hibs physiotherapist who administered CPR and grabbed a nearby defibrillator, shocking him back to life.

Now one-year-on from his near-death experience, the football fanatic is raising funds for three new defibrillators and the necessary training to use them.

Posting on his JustGiving fund page, Paul said: "On that Sunday morning I headed off to the training ground for the first time to play football with my fellow 'FFIT' (football fans in training) graduates.

"I travelled like a teenager playing for a new boy’s club for the first time. I was so excited driving to the ground.

"I arrived with no time to warm up, was told what team I was in and the game commenced.

"For fifty minutes I felt like I was rolling back the years."

However, things took a turn for the worst towards the end of the session and Paul began to feel unwell.

The post continued: "I didn’t feel quite myself in the last ten minutes of the match and I was relieved when it ended.

"A couple of the guys expressed their concern at how I looked but I didn’t want to drop out and make it an uneven number so decided to take it easy and play.

"After only about five minutes I got the ball square in the nether regions and collapsed.

"Many thought that I was having an epileptic fit but they weren’t to know that I was having a massive heart attack which resulted in a cardiac arrest.

"Hibs Physiotherapist, Kitty Forrest was working that morning and was asked to help.

"She firstly administered two rounds of CPR and after I failed to respond she used a defibrillator to get my heart back into rhythm."

"I was rushed to hospital and had stents inserted to unblock my arteries."

But the Hibs fans’ story could have ended very differently.

On the morning of the match, Paul had planned on going a run up the Pentland Hills but made a last minute decision to go to the training instead - a decision which no doubt saved his life.

He continued: “It was fate - if I had gone for a run in the hills I would have been nowhere near a defibrillator and I would have died.”

Paul is raising the funds through St John Scotland, a charity who donate public access defibrillators (PADs) throughout the country.

Since launching the Just Giving campaign on March 27, Paul has smashed his £5000 target.

Posting a recent update Paul said: "A fantastic feeling waking up this morning that we hit the £5k

total exactly one week since i started the fundraising , £6k with gift aid"