A man was rushed to hospital during new year celebrations shortly after the clock struck midnight.

The man, believed to be in his 40s, was taken as a priority to Kingston Hospital after guests at a New Year’s Eve party at the Bingham Hotel in Richmond saw him fall to the floor as they sang Auld Lang Syne.

One guest, who did not want to be named, said: “We all had dinner and then we went down to the party.

“He was right next to us when we were doing Auld Lang Syne but he could not hold our hand because he had a glass of wine in his hand.

“The next minute he literally fell to the floor.

“My husband and I looked at each other and thought he was drunk and he would get up in a minute, but he didn’t.

“I thought he had banged his head but when I saw his face I asked a member of staff to call an ambulance.”

She said her husband administered CPR to the man before the ambulance arrived.

A spokesman from the London Ambulance Service said: “We were called at 12.12am on January 1 to reports of a person unwell at an address on Petersham Road.

“We sent a single responder in a car and two ambulance crews to the scene.

“Staff treated one patient, a man, reported to be in his 40s, who was in cardiac arrest.

“He was taken as a priority to Kingston Hospital.”