Latest news with #RoyalHumaneSociety
BBC News
17-05-2025
- BBC News
PCs honoured for saving life of woman hit by train in Doncaster
Four "heroic" police officers have been recognised with top bravery and life-saving honours after saving the life of a woman who had been hit by a Christopher Bell, Carl Holden, Tanveer Akhtar and Ben Hawley have received the awards from the Royal Humane Society (RHS) following the incident at Doncaster Railway Station last four officers were among those who responded to reports of a woman being critically injured after she was involved in a collision with a train on 12 Chapman, secretary of the RHS, said: "Ignoring any danger to themselves, the four officers all went under the train and succeeded in their fight to save her." According to South Yorkshire Police, PCs Bell, Holden, Akhtar and Hawley worked as a team to climb down onto the track with their first aid equipment, before PC Holden got underneath the train and applied tourniquets to the woman's other three officers then joined him under the train to offer further first aid support to the woman, who also had a head then arrived to pull the woman from under the train before she was taken to hospital. Later, NHS surgeons who treated the woman contacted police to say that without the intervention of the four officers, her life "would have been lost".The four officers have since been awarded Royal Humane Society Testimonials on Parchment for saving the woman's Chapman said: "Ignoring any danger to themselves the four officers all went under the train and succeeded in their fight to save her."If they had not acted as they did, it is very doubtful that she would have survived. They were true life-saving heroes and richly deserve the awards."Doncaster District Commander Ch Supt Pete Thorp said: "These four officers showed incredible bravery and aptitude in a horrific and challenging situation to ultimately save this woman's life."The fundamental role of police officers is to protect and preserve life and that is exactly what they did, and I am so pleased they are being recognised by the Royal Humane Society for their efforts on that day." Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
BBC News
14-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Police officer recognised for helping to save man's life in Droitwich
A police officer has been recognised for their life saving actions in performing CPR on a Prendiville was playing hockey at Droitwich Leisure Centre on 30 November 2024 when he suffered a cardiac arrest. PC Maria Francolini gave him CPR compressions at the the officer, along with other trained members of the public and staff at the centre, has been recognised with a Royal Humane Society resuscitation award for their life saving Prendiville, who has been recovering, said: "My family and I are so grateful to all those people who saved my life without hesitation." "I am recovering well and feel extremely lucky to be alive," he Pete Frankish praised PC Francolini's actions, saying: "Maria continued with CPR for 20 minutes while shocks were delivered from the defibrillator."He added: "Peter regained consciousness and was treated by ambulance staff en route to Worcester Royal Hospital where he was rushed to theatre and treated."Mr Prendiville and PC Francolini reunited at Christmas last year. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
07-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Praise for volunteer officer who saved toddler's life in Barnsley
A volunteer police officer who saved a three-year-old boy's life has been awarded a bravery Inspector Louise Rock's quick-thinking saved the toddler, who was seriously injured following a collision in Haigh Lane, Barnsley, in June last volunteer, who was off-duty at the time, was praised during a ceremony last month and given a resuscitation certificate from the Royal Humane Constabulary Chief Officer Craig Batham MBE said she had demonstrated "tremendous professionalism and quick-thinking". Special Insp Rock had been on her way to work when she came across the scene of the collision in which a car had hit a noticed a man holding an unconscious boy, who was not breathing and had blood coming from his officer gave the child first aid and placed him in the recovery position until paramedics Constabulary Chief Officer Batham said her actions had shown that officers were "never truly off-duty" and that she was "truly worthy" of the recognition by the Royal Humane Society."During the incident, Special Insp Rock had to take into account the distress the child's family were in, the structural safety of the wall which had been hit, members of the public who had gathered due to the collision, and the privacy of the child and his family," he said."We are extremely proud of her professionalism and dedication to help the local community, whether on or off-duty, and we are extremely pleased that her efforts contributed in saving a life."The Royal Humane Society awards medals, testimonials and certificates for acts of bravery in the saving of human life and for effecting successful resuscitations. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
How a BBC journalist saved a woman who walked into the sea
A BBC Scotland journalist has received a Police Scotland bravery award after rescuing a woman from the sea in Orkney. Linda Sinclair, who has also been recognised by the Royal Humane Society, recalls how the dramatic day unfolded after she went for a beach swim with her sister. I knew something wasn't right when the woman walking down the middle of the road refused to move aside, despite the noise of my car engine approaching. By her demeanour, I also instinctively sensed that a polite toot of the horn was not the appropriate response. At the time I was driving to Inganess Beach on the outskirts of Kirkwall. I had discovered the bay early on in my three-month stint working at BBC Radio Orkney. It was just a five-minute drive from my house and is a truly beautiful spot. The wreck of a World War Two ship famously rests in its deeper waters where the Arctic Terns swoop for fish. The sight of planes landing and taking off from the nearby Kirkwall Airport adds to the charm of this picture postcard location. I would swim early in the morning when the water was still or late at night as the sun set, casting stunning ambers and pinks streaks through the sky. Braving the chilly water in a swimsuit became a daily ritual. On the evening of 16 July 2023 there was initially nothing out of the ordinary as I drove down with my sister, Gail. It was overcast and grey and not particularly warm for a summer's night, in stark contrast to the blue skies and sunshine of the previous day. When we spotted the lone woman she was initially oblivious to us. As we approached she continued walking in the middle of the narrow road and reduced my car to a crawl, before stepping aside onto the beach. Up ahead, Inganess was quiet apart from the odd dog walker and a child playing on the rocks as a couple looked on. As we made the short walk from the car to the beach, I couldn't help but notice the woman again. She was kneeling in the damp sand, crying and on her mobile phone. The situation didn't look good and I kept an eye on her as we made our way into the sea. My concerns were realised as a few moments later she followed us in to the water, fully clothed apart from her shoes. Gail and I acted quickly and, without saying a word to each other, took an arm each. My sister took the lead and spoke to the distressed woman - who appeared to be in her late 40s - to try and persuade her to come ashore. She was taller and stronger than us and it took all our collective strength to guide her back out of the chilly water. But just seconds after we got her out of the water she turned around and walked back in. I knew then we couldn't deal with this situation alone and decided to raise the alarm. Dripping wet, I ran up to the road, flagged down a car and asked the driver to call 999. I cursed myself as it was one of the few times I had left home without my phone. Less than 15 minutes later a police sergeant and a friend of the woman arrived on the scene. They both desperately called her name and urged her to return to the shoreline but their pleas were ignored. By now the people scattered across the beach had started to gather. Another onlooker called the woman's name again to no avail. The turning point for me was a man who started chatting to me and appeared oblivious to the enormity of the situation. Mid-conversation I turned my back on him and headed towards the police officer. I did not care if it was rude. I feared time was against us and I had to act. So I asked the sergeant if he would stop me going into the water. To my surprise he said he would not. However he did ask if I was a strong swimmer and warned if I got too close to the woman he would shout my name. More stories from North East Scotland, Orkney and Shetland Listen to news from Orkney on BBC Sounds I learned to swim as a child and in 2022 my sister introduced me to open water swimming. I joined a group called the Dell Dippers in my home town of Pitlochry, Perthshire, and swam with the Orkney Polar Bears during my time on the island. But for all my experience I had never tried to save someone before. I waded in and swam out to the woman, who was about parallel to the shipwreck in the deeper waters. From the shore, about 100m away, I heard the sergeant shout: "Linda, that's close enough." I treaded water as I asked the lady her name and what she was doing. She told me she had nothing to live for and added: "Everything is bad." I reassured her this was not the case and rapidly tried to build a bond as we bobbed up and down a few metres apart. I asked her about her life and questions such as who she lived with. She told me she looked after her mum and dad. I said to her that they would be sad if she left them alone. My main message was that they needed her. She was important. Her life was important. I pleaded with her to return to shore and, after a few desperate minutes, she agreed. The relief was overwhelming as we silently swam side-by-side, a few metres apart, back to the beach. When we finally waded out of the sea, she threw her arms around me and gripped me tight to show her gratitude. She held me for a few moments, and it felt like our shared experience in the sea had created a bond. Seconds later she was whisked away by paramedics into the waiting ambulance. The crew asked me how I was. I felt fine but suddenly became aware of how cold I was. I started to shiver, either from the temperature, or adrenaline or both. The sergeant shook my hand, a paramedic removed my awkward neoprene boots and I rushed to my car to get some welcome heat. A few days later the officer told me he had nominated me for a bravery award. Last September I was recognised by the Royal Humane Society. And in February I was humbled to receive a separate award from Police Scotland Chief Constable Jo Farrell. People tell me I am brave but I genuinely do not think I am. I acted on instinct. To me it was the only thing to do. I could not have stood by on the shore and watched someone drown. It has played through my mind since that the loss of a close family member to suicide may have been the catalyst for my actions. I cannot be sure. But the pain of my personal loss certainly enabled me to connect with the woman and convince her not to take her own life. More than 18 months on I sincerely hope she is doing well. One thing is certain, that day on the beach will never leave me. If you've been affected by the issues in this story you can find information and support here.
BBC News
09-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
How a BBC journalist saved a woman who walked into the sea
A BBC Scotland journalist has received a Police Scotland bravery award after rescuing a woman from the sea in Sinclair, who has also been recognised by the Royal Humane Society, recalls how the dramatic day unfolded after she went for a beach swim with her sister. I knew something wasn't right when the woman walking down the middle of the road refused to move aside, despite the noise of my car engine her demeanour, I also instinctively sensed that a polite toot of the horn was not the appropriate the time I was driving to Inganess Beach on the outskirts of Kirkwall.I had discovered the bay early on in my three-month stint working at BBC Radio was just a five-minute drive from my house and is a truly beautiful wreck of a World War Two ship famously rests in its deeper waters where the Arctic Terns swoop for sight of planes landing and taking off from the nearby Kirkwall Airport adds to the charm of this picture postcard location. I would swim early in the morning when the water was still or late at night as the sun set, casting stunning ambers and pinks streaks through the the chilly water in a swimsuit became a daily the evening of 16 July 2023 there was initially nothing out of the ordinary as I drove down with my sister, was overcast and grey and not particularly warm for a summer's night, in stark contrast to the blue skies and sunshine of the previous we spotted the lone woman she was initially oblivious to we approached she continued walking in the middle of the narrow road and reduced my car to a crawl, before stepping aside onto the beach. Up ahead, Inganess was quiet apart from the odd dog walker and a child playing on the rocks as a couple looked we made the short walk from the car to the beach, I couldn't help but notice the woman again. She was kneeling in the damp sand, crying and on her mobile situation didn't look good and I kept an eye on her as we made our way into the concerns were realised as a few moments later she followed us in to the water, fully clothed apart from her and I acted quickly and, without saying a word to each other, took an arm sister took the lead and spoke to the distressed woman - who appeared to be in her late 40s - to try and persuade her to come was taller and stronger than us and it took all our collective strength to guide her back out of the chilly water. But just seconds after we got her out of the water she turned around and walked back in.I knew then we couldn't deal with this situation alone and decided to raise the wet, I ran up to the road, flagged down a car and asked the driver to call 999.I cursed myself as it was one of the few times I had left home without my than 15 minutes later a police sergeant and a friend of the woman arrived on the both desperately called her name and urged her to return to the shoreline but their pleas were now the people scattered across the beach had started to onlooker called the woman's name again to no turning point for me was a man who started chatting to me and appeared oblivious to the enormity of the I turned my back on him and headed towards the police officer.I did not care if it was rude.I feared time was against us and I had to I asked the sergeant if he would stop me going into the my surprise he said he would he did ask if I was a strong swimmer and warned if I got too close to the woman he would shout my name. I learned to swim as a child and in 2022 my sister introduced me to open water swimming.I joined a group called the Dell Dippers in my home town of Pitlochry, Perthshire, and swam with the Orkney Polar Bears during my time on the for all my experience I had never tried to save someone before.I waded in and swam out to the woman, who was about parallel to the shipwreck in the deeper the shore, about 100m away, I heard the sergeant shout: "Linda, that's close enough."I treaded water as I asked the lady her name and what she was told me she had nothing to live for and added: "Everything is bad."I reassured her this was not the case and rapidly tried to build a bond as we bobbed up and down a few metres apart.I asked her about her life and questions such as who she lived told me she looked after her mum and dad.I said to her that they would be sad if she left them main message was that they needed her. She was important. Her life was important.I pleaded with her to return to shore and, after a few desperate minutes, she relief was overwhelming as we silently swam side-by-side, a few metres apart, back to the beach. 'I acted on instinct' When we finally waded out of the sea, she threw her arms around me and gripped me tight to show her held me for a few moments, and it felt like our shared experience in the sea had created a later she was whisked away by paramedics into the waiting crew asked me how I was. I felt fine but suddenly became aware of how cold I was.I started to shiver, either from the temperature, or adrenaline or sergeant shook my hand, a paramedic removed my awkward neoprene boots and I rushed to my car to get some welcome heat.A few days later the officer told me he had nominated me for a bravery September I was recognised by the Royal Humane in February I was humbled to receive a separate award from Police Scotland Chief Constable Jo Farrell. People tell me I am brave but I genuinely do not think I am. I acted on me it was the only thing to do. I could not have stood by on the shore and watched someone has played through my mind since that the loss of a close family member to suicide may have been the catalyst for my actions.I cannot be the pain of my personal loss certainly enabled me to connect with the woman and convince her not to take her own than 18 months on I sincerely hope she is doing thing is certain, that day on the beach will never leave me.
