Quick thinking local heroes have rescued two people from a West Cumbrian river.
A 75-year-old and two Cumberland Council workers went to the aid of the people when they heard someone screaming for help on Thursday afternoon, August 29.
They spotted a man in the fast-flowing River Ehen, clinging to a tree.
The plucky trio grabbed a rope, ran back, tied a loop and threw it to the man, telling him to wrap it round him.
Cumbria Crack was told: “At this point the man shouted he couldn’t as there was a woman in the water between him and the tree. Without thinking about his own safety and without hesitating, the pensioner jumped down a 6ft bank into the fast flowing water and navigated his way to the man.”
The trio managed to get the woman onto dry land and then the plucky pensioner turned to the man, who was still clinging to the tree, and told him to trust him – the 75-year-old grabbed his arm and pulled him up so the council workers could help him out of the water.
Emergency services were called, including the Great North Air Ambulance and the fire service.
A spokesman for the Great North Air Ambulance said: “Our critical care team was activated at 1.08pm to an incident near the River Ehen in Egremont. We had a paramedic and doctor on board our aircraft and they arrived on scene at 1.28pm.
“Our team worked alongside the North West Ambulance Service to assess and treat a patient before airlifting the patient to hospital.”
