Preston police officers save elderly man clinging to tree in canal
Preston police officers have helped save an elderly man clinging to a tree in a canal.
They issued a post praising the three officers, saying: “ We want to tell you about some great work which three of our officers did in Preston in the early hours of Thursday morning.
“Around 11.45pm on Wednesday night, we had received a report of a concern for welfare after a vulnerable, elderly man had left his home.
“Three officers from our armed response team within our Specialist Operations department deployed to the Ingol area to search for the man who is aged in his 80s.
“When searching, they found the man in the canal, clinging to a tree root to keep his head above the water.Our officers went into the water and rescued him from the canal, before delivering emergency first-aid.
“He was extremely cold, having been in the water for up to 45 minutes.Our colleagues from the North West Ambulance Service believe that if it wasn’t for the actions of the two officers, the gentleman was unlikely to have survived the cold temperature of the water for a further period of time.
“He was taken to hospital for treatment.”