A rugby player who swallowed his tongue during a game has said he will be eternally grateful to the man who saved his life.

In a match between Colchester Rugby Club’s second team and Chingford, Chingford winger Martin Shuttleworth went in for a tackle and remained on the ground. The team captain had swallowed his tongue and was struggling to breathe.

Colchester Ravens captain Dan Howson ran to his aid and brought back his tongue, allowing the 30-year-old to gradually come round and to be helped by a former GP on the touchline.

Said Martin, “The timing of my tackle was not great, but I can’t recall much of it - I just remember waking up at the side of the pitch being wrapped in a blanket and wondering what was going on. I am so grateful to Dan for his quick thinking, it could have all been a lot worse but for his actions.”

Dan Howson, a 31-year-old former army officer with the Royal Anglian Regiment in Colchester, said, “I just heard the referee’s whistle and noticed he was down and not moving. I ran over and could tell he was not breathing properly and that something was stuck in his throat. I have done a fair bit of first aid in the past and thought he might have had a gum-shield stuck in there. I pushed him onto his side and stuck my fingers into his mouth to pull the shield out and realised it was his tongue. We then put him into the recovery position and by that stage he had started to come round.”