Two special constables and fire crews were on hand during the early hours of this morning to help rescue a man who fell into the River Mersey near Bridgefoot.
Fire engines from Warrington, Birchwood, Powey Lane, Chester and Lymm along with the water incident unit from Warrington, the hydraulic platform and the rope rescue unit from Lymm
were called to rescue a person in water in Warrington near Whard Street. Two firefighters in specialist water rescue equipment got the person to safety and to the care of waiting paramedics.
Chief Officer Boland and Special Inspector Mann from Cheshire Police Special Constabulary team, who were first on the scene, volunteer their time to support response policing across the force including Warrington attending 999 calls.
At around 4.15am a call came in from a resident on Knutsford Road who had heard someone shouting for help coming from the River Mersey close to the retail park.
The special officers were first on scene within roughly 6 minutes and Chief Officer Boland jumped into action and quickly used an in vehicle water rescue line to immediately prevent the male from going down the river or getting in further danger until expert water rescue Fire Officers from Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service arrived. Special Inspector Mann could then expertly coordinate a partner agency response to the incident.
The male had been in the town centre drinking and slipped whilst deciding to walk along the river bank and he ended up waist height in cold water and thick mud, resulting in him being extremely cold and tired.
Due to the great work of the Fire Brigade, they swiftly got him out of the water and he was then put in the care of North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust and taken to hospital to get checked over and warmed up and had no serious injuries.
A police spokesperson said: “Please please do be careful near open water, especially after having alcohol, open water at this time of year is very cold and deep due to the volume of rain we have had, this could have been a very different and upsetting outcome. A huge thank you to the member of public who called us and then went to the location and flag us down, not all heros wear capes!
“Even as volunteer police officers, we make such a difference every hour we volunteer putting on our uniform to keeping the communities of Cheshire safe. It is such a rewarding experience at the end of a duty, especially with incidents like this. “
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A rewarding incident and a great outcome for the young lad! It really does make me proud to still make time to get out frontline policing 3/4 times a month! 🙌🏼
Great to work with @SInspMann and a massive thanks to @CheshireFire & @NWAmbulance for your expert assistance 👏🏼 https://t.co/fw17xjJUdH
— CO Leon Boland (@SCOBoland) April 6, 2024
