It’s no joke as prankster saves woman from river
An internet prankster rescued a woman from the waters of the River Medway.
James Slattery, 37, was on his way back from a dentist’s appointment last Thursday when he saw a woman sitting on the bank of the river by the Broadway, Maidstone.
He said: “I was looking into the water as I have been keeping my eye out for some carp recently when I saw a woman behaving strangely. She started to tip herself forward towards the water and I knew what she was about to do so I ran down to stop her.”
Mr Slattery, who carries out ‘social experiments’, uploading the videos to the internet, shouted for help, but a group of teenagers recognised him and thought he was joking.
Eventually a man from the Kentish Lady tour boat came and helped and the pair hauled the woman from the water.
Mr Slattery added: “She had clearly been drinking and was telling us to let go as she didn’t want to live.
“I just said ‘Look, the sun is shining, you’ve got everything to live for’.
“In a few minutes the police and paramedics turned up and took over.
“I don’t think what I did was particularly special. I think anyone would have acted the same.”
Mr Slattery, from Maidstone, shot to fame as a member of comedy YouTube channel Trollstation but has since gone it alone.
Most recently he hit the national headlines after staging an exorcism of the Coronation Street set.
A police spokesman said: “We were called at 11.43am to reports a woman had fallen into the River Medway.
“It is reported members of the public assisted with helping the woman out of the water. She is not believed to have suffered any serious injuries.
“The woman was left in the care of South East Coast Ambulance Service.”