Brave grandad's search for his lifesaver driver

Ian Martin was spotted driving erratically close to his home in Ellel when the woman pulled up behind him and offered her help.

After making sure he got home safely, the woman drove off before Mr Martin thought to take her name.

Mr Martin was then taken to his GP by a friend, and immediately transferred to the Royal Lancaster Infirmary where he was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

The former city council employee is now due to undergo a course of radium to treat the cancer.

The dad-of-two, who also has four grandchildren, said he wants to find the woman who assisted him to say thank you.

“I had been into the village to get my pension and was driving back when I started feeling rough, so I pulled over to the side of the road,” he said.

“A lady pulled up next to me and I asked if she was lost and she said she wanted to see if I was OK because I had been driving all over the road.

“You could see the tyre marks I had left across the road but I didn’t remember it at all. I had offered to help her but it turned out it was me who she wanted to help.

“She asked where I lived and I said it was not far away and that I would drive very slowly and so she followed me.

“When I got to my driveway I said thank you and she drove away.

“I didn’t realise how bad I was. My friend took me to the doctor’s in Galgate and then I was told an ambulance was coming for me. All I remember is the flashing lights.”

Mr Martin, who served in the RAF as a young man, said he died for just over a minute while in the RLI.

He was later told he had been suffering from a series of small seizures while he was driving.

It was initially thought he may have suffered a stroke, but tests then showed Mr Martin had a cancerous brain tumour and he was transferred to Royal Preston Hospital.

Mr Martin is keen to track down the motorist, who he believes may live locally due to knowing the country roads around Ellel.

“I haven’t been able to trace the lady,” he said. “I just want to find out who she is to thank her.

“I was lucky I was only on a small road; if I had been on the motorway or a busy A road I would have died.

“I am so lucky that I stopped when I did and that she was there to help me. She saved my life.”

The incident happened on Bay Horse Road in Quernmore just after 9am on Monday January 8.

If you are the lady who helped Mr Martin, or know who she is, please contact the family by email at [email protected]