A man who for 40 years fainted whenever he was woken by the door bell or his alarm clock has finally found a cure for the problem.

Allan Todd, 63, saw more than 20 doctors, none of whom could find the cause of the blackouts.

At their worst the seizures struck up to seven times a day, leaving him on the floor powerless to move for up to five hours.

Telephones, alarm clocks and wake-up calls were banned from the bedroom for fear they would trigger the problem.

It was not until Mr Todd visited a "faints and falls" facility at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary that specialists discovered the extent of his condition.

Over a three-day period in a special sleep unit he was attached to an array of monitors as he slept.

They revealed that the shock of a wake-up call turned off his heart and rendered him brain-dead for up to 30 seconds.

''I was told it was a miracle I was still here,'' said Mr Todd, of Scalby, near Scarborough, North Yorkshire.

''I was taking my life in my own hands just going to sleep. It got to the stage when my wife wouldn't wake me up for fear it would start a session.

''Even the window cleaner was kept away from the house while I was asleep because he used to come at 8am and make a lot of noise.''

The father-of-three said the fainting fits came more frequently and were more energy-sapping each time.

Doctors thought epilepsy could be the cause and a heavy dose of medication was prescribed, but to no effect.

It was only when he saw a doctor after passing out on a holiday in Tenerife that he started on the road to recovery.

The Spanish doctor told Mr Todd that he needed a "tilt test", usually used for diagnosing blood problems.

On returning home, he was told there was a six-month waiting list for the test unless he paid to go privately.

A week later, a consultant referred him to the fainting and falls facility in Newcastle, where a doctor diagnosed him as having a heart problem.

He was fitted with a temporary pacemaker which was later upgraded to a model programmed to kick-start his heart with an electrical current whenever it stopped beating for longer than 1.5 seconds.

The RVI day case facility - the only one in the UK - was set up in 1991 to provide older patients with rapid access to hospital treatment.

A study by Newcastle University showed that the out-patient unit has provided enormous savings for the NHS - equivalent to freeing one ward for a year.

The research showed the facility helped relieve pressure on accident and emergency services, saving the NHS about £2.5m a year.

Three consultants see 3,500 patients each year, and there are 1,500 new admissions annually.