Bride to reunite with lifesaver 31 years on
Chance to finally say thank you after lake rescue
A woman saved by a stranger when she was swept away in Mote Park lake will finally get to meet her rescuer 31yearson.
Louise Carter was just seven when she slipped into the water as she tried to cross a weir a day after the Great Storm of October 1987. Fortunately a woman dog walker heard her cries for help and leapt in.
As Miss Carter, now 38, prepares to get married thoughts turned to wanting to say thanks to her life saver. And the KM was able to track down the he roof that day. Pamela Kelly, wholives 150 miles away, has now been invited to the wedding.
A bride will be reunited with the fearless woman who saved her life as a child more than three decades ago.
Louise Carter, who was just seven when disaster struck 31 years ago, was playing near the lake in Mote Park, Maidstone.
She had tried to cross the lake at the weir but was swept deep into the water on October 17, 1987 - the day after the Great Storm had battered the country.
But a nearby dog walker immediately jumped in and swam over to rescue the youngster.
Miss Carter, now 38, is preparing to tie the knot in July. Her father, David Carter, of Cripple Street, Maidstone, remembered the woman’s act of heroism while preparing his Father of the Bride speech.
The 62- year- old said: “I never properly thanked her at the time, but I’d really like to now.”
Mr Carter got in touch with the KM asking for our help in tracking down his daughter’s rescuer, so he could extend an invite to his daughter’s big day.
And we found Pamela Kelly, now a 79 year-old great-grandmother to four children living in Poole.
Mrs Kelly, who regularly brought her border collie to the park, recalled the fateful day.
She said: “I just happened to be walking my dog when I heard a child screaming. She was out in the water, hooked up in wood.
“After I got her out of the lake, I carried her to Mote House, where they called an ambulance for Louise.
“When I got home I remember sitting there dripping wet and I just burst into tears.
“All of what had just happened hit me. I phoned my friend and her son brought her round to be with me. But after a hot shower, I was okay again.
Mrs Kelly had previously lived in Egremont Road, Bearsted and worked in Kent County Council’s transport department. However, she was in the process of relocating to Dorset and left the county only a month after saving Miss Carter.
Mrs Kelly said: “I remember a policeman thanked me for doing it - you’d hope anyone would do it, but he said that not everybody would have done.
“You don’t just leave a child in the lake.”
She later received a bravery award from the Royal Humane Society in recognition of her heroic act.
Miss Carter, who works as a commercial property lawyer in Maidstone said: “I don’t remember anything about the lady who saved me, as I was only seven. But I remember the events of the day and I remember falling in the water.
“I was one of the only people in the park, as it was the day after the hurricane.
“It was sheer luck I was on the side of the lake that she was. Without her I genuinely wouldn’t be here today.
“I’d love to be able to see her and say thank you.”
Miss Carter, who lives in Hoo will get married there.
Mr Carter and Mrs Kelly have now spoken on the phone and the family hope to finally meet their hero at the wedding.