A medical officer with Cambridgeshire Search & Rescue tonight criticised passers by for taking photographs of a man who collapsed in Broad Street, March.

Lee Sustins – who happened to be passing by when the incident happened and was there when an air ambulance was called- also criticised those who had posted false reports to social media.

Mr Sustins posted his own thoughts to the March Free Discussion Facebook group, which has nearly 15,000 members.

“Everyone, no need to make up stories,” he wrote. “Poor chap taken ill in Broad Street; he wasn’t drunk, shot, run over, or anything like that, just taken ill and hit his head,.

“Because of that MAGPAS Helimedix was called and put him in a coma to protect his breathing etc.

“I was there and the amount of people taking pictures of us working on him was a shame.

“It’s somebody’s loved one, please have some respect. Yes, take pictures of the helicopter and support it with donations but not the casualty themselves.”

Mr Sustins did, however, thank those who had called the emergency services immediately after the man collapsed.

“Good job guys, I was the SAR chap on scene as I was passing,” he wrote. “He was packaged and sent on his way, to where he needs to be. I too hope his has a good recovery.”

One woman said she and her mother were worried when they saw a white sheet go up.

“We were concerned when we went past just as the Helimedix arrived,” she wrote.

But Mr Sustins said: “I only put up the sheet to protect his dignity as too many with phones out near the public toilets.”

Cambridgeshire Search and Rescue (CamSAR) is a specialist, voluntary, team that is called upon by police in the search for vulnerable missing people: a child, an elderly person suffering from dementia or even someone who is considering taking their own life.