Rescue drama

ON dry land . . . the woman who fell into the river is lead to safety

Brave Lynne, 64, jumps from bridge to save elderly river-plunge woman

An heroic pensioner carried out a daring rescue when she jumped from a bridge into a torrent of freezing water at a Saddleworth beauty spot.

Lynne Clayton, who is 64 and only 5ft tall, saved an elderly woman who had fallen face- down from a narrow bridge into the River Tame, Delph, yesterday afternoon.

Brave Mrs Clayton, who lives at near-by Bridge End, heard a distressing cry from the helpless victim and, without fear for her own safety, plunged into the water.

Meanwhile, Barbara McDonald, who lives in a cottage overlooking the river, dialled 999 while another local, David Cook, rushed to get a ladder from a garage.

Mrs Clayton struggled to get the woman into an upright position but held on to her until Mr Cook arrived and helped the woman on to the ladder before an ambulance, flanked by police, fire crews and the Oldham Mountain Rescue team arrived. The main road bridge was partially sealed off for a time until the woman, believed to be in her 70s, was escorted away from danger and taken to hospital.

Mrs Clayton, who is receiving treatment for shoulder injuries, said at her home today: “I am not a hero. I just did what anyone would do in the circumstances.

“I was feeding ducks when I heard this cry. The woman who had fallen in the river was with another lady who was hysterical. I ran to the bridge and dropped down to help.”

Barbara McDonald said: “Lynne was incredibly brave. She just leapt over the bridge’s metal fence and joined the woman in the water 8ft below without a thought for her own safety.”

Mr Cook (41) said: “She did a great job. She just plunged over the side of the bridge and straight into the water.

“I climbed down the ladder and we managed to get the lady to safety. She was very upset and in a state of shock.”

Mick Nield, who lead a 10–strong team of Oldham Mountain Rescue members to the incident, said: “It was particularly tricky because although the water was shallow it was very cold and there were rocks sticking up.

“Anyone could easily have got hypothermia and caused more injuries to themselves if they had twisted an ankle in that situation.”

It was Oldham Mountain Rescue team’s 59th turn-out of the year so far — eclipsing their total of 48 for the whole of last year.

It is believed the woman, who had been taking photographs from the bridge, has now recovered.