Ailing diver’s 90-minute wait Cancer claims marathon after rescue helicopter axed man who defied the odds
A DIVER suffering breathing difficulties had to wait 90 minutes to be rescued by the coastguard the day after the rescue helicopter for the area was axed to cut costs.
The man was diving off Portland, in Dorset, on Saturday afternoon when he started suffering chest pains. The coastguard was called at 1.40pm but the helicopter did not arrive until 3.10pm. The Portland helicopter ceased operations the day before, despite a 100,000-signature petition to save it.
Ian Taylor, of Skin Deep Diving, was the boat skipper. He said the service could not cope without the helicopter based nearby and it was only a matter of time before someone died.
He added: “The hospital wanted the diver airlifted in, so the coastguard was requested. If you suffer chest pains after you come up from a dive, it’s quite worrying. The helicopter came an hour and a half later. It’s a shambles – the day after the Portland helicopter went. They can’t cope without the helicopter.”
Mr Taylor, 45, said the diver, in his 40s, was given oxygen while they waited but still needed treatment in the decompression chamber at Poole Hospital and was kept in overnight.
The Dorset area is now covered by a regional service based in Lee-on-solent, Hampshire, as part of a restructuring of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency that will see a fleet of helicopters operating from 10 bases around the UK. An MCA spokesman said: “For a significant proportion of their time, coastguard helicopters are not on the ground at their base but are out conducting their duties around the UK.” A Father-of-three who ran 24 mara- thons after being diagnosed with terminal cancer has died, having beaten the odds to live years longer than doctors predicted.
Ben Ashworth, 38, from Preston, Lancs, found he had terminal bowel cancer in March 2012, and was given six months to live.
He began taking part in charity runs three years ago. He went on to complete 24 marathons, in between chemotherapy treatments, as well as four ultra-marathons, a cycling tour to the three peaks of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon and a Tough Mudder assault course race.
He leaves three young daughters. Louise, his wife, wrote on Facebook: “We are heartbroken, but we are also in awe of the time we have been blessed with. How he has defied the odds. The way he won every race. We are grateful this wasn’t a marathon and his last days were spent surrounded by those he loves and we were able to keep him at home.”
Mr Ashworth told The Daily Telegraph in an interview last year that he had chosen to run after his diagnosis because it “helped discipline me”, adding that his wife “has been truly incredible”.