A tap-dancing granny from Croydon - who said keeping fit saved her life - is now teaching other over 50s how to tap.

Joan Armfield, 74, was told she may not have survived a heart attack had she not been so fit from her years of tap-dancing.

She hopes her story will inspire other older people to take up regular exercise in a bid to improve their health.

Joan had just finished teaching a class in December 2005 when she blacked out. When she regained consciousness she was told she had suffered a massive heart attack.

Joan said: "It was the surgeons who initially saved my life. I was told that had I not been so fit I might not have survived. In that sense keeping fit did save my life.

"I've always led a healthy lifestyle. I've never smoked or drank and I've eaten healthily and exercised. Quite boring really, but that's why the attack was such a tremendous shock.

"It was a serious one as well - I had a triple by-pass operation. I was told that most people wouldn't have survived a heart attack like that.

"My heart attack happened just before Christmas and by Easter I was back teaching tap dance."

Joan, who lives with her husband John in Gravel Hill, has been dancing since the age of nine and turned professional at 16. She has danced on the stage and has also taught keep fit for women over the age of 50. She also teaches tap dancing for people of the same age group.

The grandmother-of-five, who has four children, added: "It wasn't intended to be for the over-50s but that's just the way it turned out. It's never too late to start and it could save your life."