Audience Laughed As Comedian Died On Stage Thinking It Was 'Part Of The Act'

Audience members who watched stand-up comedian Ian Cognito suffer a fatal heart attack on stage have admitted they laughed along thinking it was 'part of the act'.

John Ostojak described how the funnyman "sat on a chair and laid back for five minutes" at the end of his set at The Atic bar in Bicester two nights ago.

Just 10 minutes earlier he'd joked about having a stroke, quipping, "Imagine having a stroke and waking up speaking Welsh.'"

And John Ostojak, who was at the Lone Wolf Comedy Club with a friend, told the BBC everyone believed that when Cognito took a seat at the end of the show and fell silent, it was a joke.

"We thought it was part of the act," he told the BBC .

"We came out feeling really sick, we just sat there for five minutes watching him, laughing at him."

The compere eventually approached the stage and an ambulance was called at 10.20pm.

Audience members were asked to leave as staff gave chest compressions in a fruitless bid to revive him.

Reports say he had been taking medication for a heart condition.