THE emergency services have revealed more details about what happened during a dramatic river rescue after a brave dad pulled a woman out of freezing flood water.
We reported how Colin McGarva saw a woman in the River Severn in Worcester at around 9am on New Year's Day and swam out to pull her to safety, using the life ring.
The 31-year-old had been walking his dog on Hylton Road in St John's when he saw the woman floating down the river towards the Sabrina Bridge.
West Mercia Police, Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service, including a fire engine and a boat crew, and West Midlands Ambulance Service all attended the incident - but the dad and another dog walker had already managed to pull the woman from the water.
Mr McGarva, a manager at Purple Cactus Properties, had been concerned, both for the welfare of the woman he rescued from the flood water and a second woman who looked after his dog while he carried out the rescue. His German Shepherd had pulled her off her feet and he told the Worcester News he was worried her act of kindness had left her with a broken arm during the fall.
However, we can now reveal the woman suffered only minor injuries and was discharged at the scene which Mr McGarva said was 'great news'.
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A spokesperson for West Mercia Police: "We were called to the Sabrina bridge in Worcester at 9.05am yesterday morning following a report of a person in the river. The person was helped out of the water by passers-by and left in the care of the ambulance service."
A spokesperson for the West Midlands Ambulance Service said: “We were called at 9.08am on Monday to an incident in the water nearby to Sabrina Bridge, River Severn in Worcester. One ambulance attended the scene. Upon arrival we found a woman who had been assisted out of the water by a bystander.
"She was assessed by ambulance staff and conveyed to Worcestershire Royal Hospital for further assessment. A second woman who was a bystander had sustained minor injuries, she received self care advice from ambulance staff before being discharged at the scene.”
Speaking on the day of the incident, Mr McGarva who has an 11-month-old son, said: "The water was freezing. I just had to do it. There was no second thought. I am absolutely fine though I'm getting a bit emotional talking about it now."
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