A FAMILY have told of their devastation after their father collapsed on the beach while on a Summer break in Turkey.

Dougie McKendrick is seriously ill in intensive care after suffering a heart attack while he laid a towel on the sand for him and his wife Lynn.

Paramedics spent 45 minutes giving the father-of-two CPR after he went into cardiac arrest and were able to get his heart started.

However the 62-year-old, who is from Forth, in South Lanarkshire, has been in a coma for a week at a private hospital near the resort of Tide, in the southern Mediterranean coast and the family now fear the worst.

Dougie is a well known face in the junior football scene, with 40 years of his life devoted to clubs including Forth Wanderers.

His sons Colin and Douglas have now flown out to Turkey to support their mum.

Colin, who works for South Lanarkshire Council, said: "My mum and dad arrived in Turkey last Wednesday.

"They were staying in the Sunrise Hotel. On Friday morning, my dad as usual went down to the beach to put a towel down on the beach before he went back up for breakfast.

"He took a lot longer than he should have. My mum was really panicking.

"She tried to look for him and she was getting more worried. She went down to the beach and she saw the ambulance and she knew.

"I met the Turkish guy who found him. He wasn't unconscious at that stage, he was still breathing. He phoned the ambulance.

"He was just struggling more and more. By the time the ambulance got to hospital he wasn't breathing.

"They did CPR for 45 minutes. My mum was in a total state on the phone and we are now

"He has been intensive care since last Friday.

"We've been up at the hospital every day but we are only allowed in for half an hour. We are using a translator but it's hard to get information.

"First of all we were told that his brain scans were okay but that his heart needs to get better before he can be flown home. That gave us a glimmer of hope.

"But then, they said his heart is better but he has brain damage.

"That was devastating news for us."

A fundraising page has been set up by friends of the family to help cover the costs the family are facing while waiting for the insurance claim which has raised more than £4,000.

To make a donation CLICK HERE