Chorley man's horror injuries after leg shredded by boat's propeller while diving into canal to save dog
A man who dived into a canal to rescue his drowning dog suffered horror injuries after getting caught in a boat’s propeller.
Emergency services rushed to the waterway off Bolton Road in Chorley, near Frederick’s Ice Cream, shortly before 9pm last Saturday (May 17).
Police were first on the scene and found the man in a serious condition after suffering life-changing injuries to his leg, which was shredded after getting caught in a narrowboat’s propeller.
Officers provided emergency first aid before North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) arrived and took the lead, declaring it a major trauma incident.
The air ambulance and fire service followed as the canal-side teemed with blue-lights and emergency personnel.
NWAS deployed an ‘operational commander’, a senior paramedic who led the emergency response, with a number of resources including a Critical Care team, the HART team (Hazardous Area Response Team) and advanced paramedics.
The man was taken to hospital in a serious condition. It’s not clear what happened to his dog at this stage.
A police spokesperson said: “We were called at 8.55pm on Saturday (May 17) to Bolton Road, Heath Charnock, to a report of a man in the water in the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
“Our officers attended and provided emergency first aid. A man was taken to hospital with serious leg injuries.”
An ambulance spokesperson added: “We attended a major trauma incident with a number of resources, including our HART team (Hazardous Area Response Team), Critical Care team, operational commander and advanced paramedic.
“One patient, a male, was taken to hospital with serious leg injuries.”