River rescue after man's cry for help
HEARING a man’s cries for help, Stratford resident, John Norden, wasted no time in pulling the man out of the River Avon at Lucy’s Mill last Saturday.
John, aged 68, a retired airline pilot, responded immediately when he heard a man shouting “help! Help me!” as he’d entered the river by the old mill sluice intake at Lucy’s Mill. John pulled the man – thought to be in his 30s – out of the river by his arm.
John said: “I have a key to access the sluice intake and the man was hanging on to the ironwork of the gate. I pulled him up by the arm and he scrambled out of the river. It wasn’t a lifesaving act – I wouldn’t say that but he was in shock and crying but conscious when he got out. I just did what anybody would do to help someone. I was very impressed with the emergency services who were there in a matter of minutes.”
West Midlands Ambulance Service, Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service and Warwickshire Police all attended the scene.
A spokesperson for the ambulance service said: “We were called to reports of a person in the water at Lucy’s Mill on Mill Lane, Stratford at 5.55pm on Saturday 7th January. One ambulance and a paramedic officer were sent to the scene where on arrival the patient, a man, had already been pulled from the water. Ambulance crews treated him for injuries not thought to be serious before conveying him to Warwick Hospital for further treatment.”
The fire service added: “We were alerted at 6pm on Saturday to reports of someone in difficulty in water at the rear of the flats at Lucy's Mill. We had one fire crew in attendance who, on arrival, found one male casualty who was out of the water and receiving first aid from West Midlands Ambulance Service, who was subsequently taken to hospital. Our crew was at the scene for 20 minutes.”
This week, a Warwickshire Police spokesperson said: “We received - at 17.52 - a report that a male could be heard shouting for help from the direction of the river near the weir near Lucy’s Mill Flats, Mill Lane. Before emergency services arrived a member of the public had managed to get the male out of the water. The male – who was in his 30s - reported to be in shock when he was pulled from the water but no serious injuries.”
John said: “It was very dark but the temperature was not bad. I checked the man’s wallet for ID and once the emergency services arrived they took over. I’d just like to remind people to be very careful by the river at anytime of the year especially in winter.”
It’s not known how the man entered the river.
