Praise for Chippenham heroes (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Praise for Chippenham heroes

7:00am Friday 10th July 2009

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Friends Keith Hibberd and Lee Meadows have been praised by firefighters after they saved a suicidal pensioner from the River Avon.

Mr Hibberd, 43, of Pewsham, and Mr Meadows, 38, of Hill Rise, Chippenham, both jumped into the river behind Emery Gate shopping centre on Monday after discovering a 76-year-old man in the water.

The pair discovered the man after Mr Hibberd’s two-and-a-half month old puppy Merlin ran off towards the river.

Mr Hibberd said: “We were looking for my puppy and we saw a man in the river, so Lee jumped in straight away and, before I had even thought about it, I jumped in after him and we dragged the man to the side of the bank.

“He was fighting against us and he was saying ‘leave me alone please, let me die’, and we just said there’s no way we can do that.”

Mr Hibberd said he saw a walking stick and bag at the side of the river and assumed the elderly man had jumped in.

He added: “He was begging us to leave him there, but I noticed he had a wedding ring on so I kept talking to him and tried to keep him positive. He must have been there for some time because he was white and blue. I was scared for him more than anything – at first we thought he was dead.

“We didn’t even think twice about jumping in, he was an old guy and we just wanted to make sure he was all right. My dog was the real hero – if he wasn’t so mischievous we would never have found the man.”

Police and fire crews from Chippenham attended the scene and the man was taken to the Royal United Hospital in Bath by ambulance.

Mr Hibberd said: “I hope the guy is okay, my heart goes out to him.”

Chippenham Fire Station watch manager Steve Lodge hailed the two men as heroes. “If these two guys hadn’t have been there, it could have been a much more serious incident,” he said.

Ambulance service spokesman John Oliver said: “The first call came in at 10.44am and we were on scene within seven minutes.

“Before the ambulance had arrived one of the callers said the man was out of the water. He was assessed and taken to the RUH.”

In September, Andrew Goodship, 31, was put forward for a police bravery award after he rescued a man who threw himself off the town bridge.

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