PRINCE William piloted an air ambulance and landed in a school field to assist with the treatment of a man who was suffering from cardiac arrest.

The Duke of Cambridge, who regularly flies with the East Anglia Air Ambulance, set the helicopter down in the field of Friars Primary School, in Shoebury so the team could assist.

The crew were responding to reports that a man, believed to be in his 60s, was in cardiac arrest at a property in Eagle Way, a nearby street.

A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service said: “We were called at 4pm on Monday February 20, to reports that a man was choking and that his condition had deteriorated to a cardiac arrest.

“A rapid response vehicle was first on the scene, and was followed by an ambulance crew, a volunteer doctor and the air ambulance crew.

“The man was taken to Southend Hospital by land ambulance.

“His condition is unknown at this time.”

Duty Manager Janet O’Mahoney, who attended the patient as well, said: “CPR was being performed on our arrival which can help make a massive difference to patient outcome.

“Using a defibrillator, our emergency medical technician who responded by car from the nearby station delivered one shock, which the patient’s heart responded positively to. This meant we could continue making every clinical intervention possible on the patient to give him the best chances of survival.

“With our critical care colleagues, it was excellent teamwork and thank you to everyone involved in this patient’s care.”

Prince William remained with the aircraft while the medical crew rushed to help treat the casualty, and attracted a lot of attention from school staff and passers-by.

Head of school Donna Lees said: “It was very exciting to meet the crew of the East Anglia Air Ambulance, particularly Prince William.

“He was both charming and very professional.

“They explained their role to us and allowed us to take photographs of the helicopter, which we will be sharing with the children during assembly.”

Aaron Chesham, 19, from Southend, is an aircraft enthusiast and was in the area to snap some pictures of the ambulance landing.

The Southend United steward said: “Unfortunately, I didn’t get to meet Prince William because it was in the school premises.

“But I climbed up the fence to get a picture and there he was.

“He was there for 30 minutes while the special doctors dealt with the patient.

“The patient didn’t get airlifted as they went by land ambulance to hospital.

“He then took off but he started to hover the helicopter so I could get some photographs of it.

“I put my thumb up to tell him I was done and then he went to Southend Airport to wait for the rest of the crew.

“I’m a very keen plane spotter.

“I go to quite a lot of airports and airshows throughout the year.”

Prince William is set to discontinue his service with the air ambulance later this year.