A father-of-two died in front of his family after enjoying a meal out with them at a Toby Carvery in Solihull.
Mark Hicklin, 55, was out with his family on March 6 when he went into a cardiac arrest in the Bradford Arms.
The lifelong Aston Villa fan’s daughter tried to save his life by carrying out CPR on him while paramedics raced to the venue.
An off-duty nurse also tried to assist but they were not successful in saving his life.
GoFundMe
Mark suffered from kidney problems and diabetes and took early retirement from his job at the Royal Mail.
His son Matthew said: "Paramedics then took over and did their best to keep him alive. But he died. It was a huge shock for my mum and sister and for the whole family.
"He had been waiting months for his pension to arrive which had caused him stress.
“His pension finally arrived on March 3 and he had splashed out on Villa merchandise, some new glasses and something for my mum.
"Then just three days later he was dead. My dad was a larger-than-life character. He was the life and soul of the party.
"He loved his family and lived for them. We never had a great deal of money but my dad always provided for us.
"He was a huge Villa fan and had a season ticket for many years in the Holte End."
"He was a fantastic dad and loved by everyone. I would like to thank staff at the Toby Carvery, off-duty nurse Rebecca and all the paramedics for their efforts," Matthew told Birmingham Live.
Laura Hicklin
A GoFundMe pagehas been set up to put a defibrillator in the Toby Carvery where he died.
His daughter Laura posted on the page: “You might have seen him in shorts and white socks.
"Lifelong Aston Villa fan, Holte End season ticket holder and most of all loving husband, father and friend to many people.
"On March 6 at Toby Carvery Castle Bromwich, Mark was attending his first family meal with his wife and daughter since Covid.
“Shortly after his meal, Mark collapsed to the floor and suffered a cardiac arrest.
“Prior to the ambulance attending, his daughter tried to give him a fighting chance of surviving this cardiac arrest by giving CPR alongside other people in the restaurant.
“Sadly Mark passed in the Toby Carvery after the crew tried their best to save him.
“As a family we want to reach out and raise as much money as possible, to purchase a defibrillator at Toby Carvery Castle Bromwich where Mark suffered the cardiac arrest.
“With the remainder of the money we will purchase defibrillators for the community of Castle Vale and surrounding local communities where Mark was well loved & respected."