'Hero' Severn Trent workers save elderly woman's life after she fell into River Derwent

Three Severn Trent workers worked together to pull an elderly woman out of a Derbyshire river and save her life. Will Middleton, 22, was driving alongside the River Derwent near the Witches Oak site when he saw a woman in the water.

The worker proceeded to ring his nearby colleagues for help, Daniel Smith, 45 and Fahren Tansley, 20, for help. After which he tied a rope around himself and waded into the water to save the pensioner.

Will said: "I stopped the van and could see she was in real trouble so rang Dan and Fahren for help and then took off my boots, tied the rope to myself and started wading out to her."

When his colleagues arrived they helped Will pull the woman out of the water and started to administer first aid, as well as trying to warm her up with their work fleeces until emergency services attended the scene.

The woman was then rushed to hospital where she was able to make a full recovery after the incident, which took place in February, 2023, after a spell of heavy rain.

Will added: “The water was freezing cold and pretty deep in places, but there was no way we could have got her out otherwise."

Dan said: “You don’t think of the danger at the time, you just want to help. It needed all three of us to rescue her. After we got her out we could see she was unconscious, but she was still alive. We just did what most people would have done.”

The modest workmates were said to have played down any 'hero' labels as "anyone would have done the same".