Police officer, paramedic save drowning woman by jumping into freezing cold canal

An unconscious woman has been saved from drowning by a heroic police officer and paramedic who rescued her by jumped into a freezing cold canal in Nottingham.

The police released bodycam footage of the rescue which showed the police constable Lee Lane and an East Midlands Ambulance Service paramedic, who wishes to remain anonymous, were pulling the woman out of the canal.

It showed that other police officers running to the scene to help PC Lee Lane and the paramedic pull her out of the water

According to Dailymail UK, the officers were called to rescue the woman who fell into the Nottingham Canal near London Road on Saturday, November 21.

The heroic police officer said that he saw the drowning woman lose consciousness as he was running towards the canal. ‘I could see the woman struggling to keep her head above the murky water. As we ran closer she then became unconscious and was drowning,’ he said.

‘As I was running towards her with the paramedic I took my Taser vest and stab vest off before we both jumped in the water. I was just thinking we had to get to her before she died.’

The paramedic reached the woman first, but in a joint effort, PC Lane helped lift her onto his shoulders and bring her to safety.

PC Lane added: ‘The water was freezing cold and I didn’t realise how deep it was, with the water coming up to my shoulder. The paramedic grabbed hold of her first but was struggling to pull her. I managed to put her on my shoulders and we were then able to drag her out of the water to safety.’

‘She was really cold and pale. My colleagues were able to provide first aid and clear the water from her lungs as she regained consciousness. We then covered her with a blanket to keep her warm until the ambulance arrived.’

The EMAS paramedic, who ran to the scene after being flagged down by a member of the public, said: ‘When I arrived I could see that the woman was already in the water and I could see that she was starting to go under.’

‘Myself and the police officer realised that she would not resurface and both of us knew then that we had to jump in to rescue her.

‘Despite how cold the water would have felt, I didn’t feel it at the time because my ultimate goal was to save this woman, so the adrenaline had kicked in.’

The woman was taken to the Queen’s Medical Centre for treatment and was later discharged.

PC Lane has served with the force for just over three years and is a response officer based at Byron House. He and the unnamed EMAS paramedic have now been put forward for a future Nottinghamshire Police Award in recognition of their brave actions.

PC Lane’s colleagues who helped at the scene were PCs Cai Bawden, Matthew Bower, Lawrence Verney and Leah Madhani.

Inspector John Lees, of Nottinghamshire Police, said that it was an exemplary piece of work by all of the officers involved, working together to save the woman in very challenging circumstances. He added that PC Lane’s and his paramedic colleague’s quick-thinking actions undoubtedly saved the woman’s life.