A MAN'S life was saved after a health check-up in a bingo hall car park led to medics finding a deadly aneurysm in his stomach.

Paul Nightingale went for a routine scan at a van on the car park of Mecca Bingo in Oldbury only for clinicians to find a nine-centimetre aneurysm on his stomach. 

Two weeks later, the dad-of-one underwent life-saving surgery to have the large aneurysm removed.

The 62-year-old said: “A trip to the bingo basically saved my life.”

Mr Nightingale with his wife, Heather, and child, ClayMr Nightingale with his wife, Heather, and child, Clay (Image: Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust) Mr Nightingale, from Wednesbury, had been invited to an NHS Lung Health Check.

The scans are part of a national drive designed to check for early signs of cancer and lung problems.

Mr Nightingale said he was told he would get the results from the 30-minute check-up in three to four weeks, but received a text message saying he had an appointment at Sandwell Hospital’s vascular surgery department just four days later.

He was told he had an abdominal aortic aneurysm, which is a widening of the aorta, the main artery in the body, that runs through the abdomen from the heart to the stomach.

If an aneurysm bursts, it causes serious internal bleeding and can often be fatal.

Mr Nightingale said: “I was shocked as I was in no pain but in hindsight, the only symptom I had was a pulse in my stomach that I could feel when I was lying down.”

After a successful surgery at Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham to remove the aneurysm, Mr Nightingale was discharged in time for his child Clay’s 21st birthday.

He is now urging anyone who receives an invitation for a check-up to make an appointment.

He said: “If you’ve had a message from your GP, for God’s sake go.

“Sandwell’s lung health check saved my life, and it could save yours too.”