An energy drink addict almost died of a heart attack after downing eight cans of caffeine-laced beverages.
Martin Bowling, 28, an insurance worker from Essex, became so hooked on the high-caffeine drinks he was spending £75 a week on them.
But his seven-year dependency nearly had a disastrous effect after he collapsed at a pub in Romford and was rushed to hospital.
Medics later confirmed he had suffered a heart attack and is now recovering following treatment at a specialist chest hospital in London.
Martin now calls the energy drinks, "death in a can".
He said: “There was no warning signs, I don’t know if it hurt, I just remember hitting the floor and waking up in hospital.
“Now I see those drinks as death in a can."
A stranger revived him, before an ambulance crew rushed him to a London hospital where high caffeine levels were diagnosed as the cause.
Martin was working about 60 hours a week and spending around £75 a week on energy drinks at the time of the attack.
He said: “I feel lucky and extremely thankful to be alive. For me £75 is a lot of money.
“I had been drinking them for about seven years and it was like I had become mentally addicted.
“Sometimes I could find myself in arguments if I hadn’t had one.
“The amount I was drinking was slowly increasing since I started when I was 21.
“I would wake up and think of an energy drink then go to sleep after an energy drink – they helped me sleep.
“Even when doctors told me high caffeine levels were the cause, I still wanted a can. It was ridiculous.
“When I was a kid you would buy sweets with spare change – now you see children buying 35p energy drinks - people need to be extremely careful.”
The attack happened on June 1 at The Bull pub, Romford, while he was watching a boxing match, at about 7pm.
