Rescuer broke foot saving drowning man

A TEENAGER fractured his ankle and broke his foot trying to rescue a man who had fallen from a Plymouth bridge into the water below.

Owen Gill, an 18-year-old who lives near the Barbican, rushed to the water’s edge in the early hours of last Sunday morning, after he heard a loud splash and then cries for help.

Owen and friends had been enjoying the Bank Holiday weekend near the aquarium at the time. The man had apparently attempted getting across the Sutton Harbour bridge – which was closed at the time – by climbing around the outside of it, but fell into the water.

A rescue ended up involving officers from Devon and Cornwall Police, members of Plymouth Coastguard and paramedics.

The Coastguard confirmed that after a call from a member of the public came in at around 12.15am on Sunday morning, the team, along with the RNLI, police and South Western Ambulance Service were all deployed.

Owen said that he was very much “in the right place at the right time” and that he was praised by police officers for his response to the incident. He said: “I was sat down by the aquarium with my girlfriend and her friend. All of a sudden we heard a loud splash. Five seconds later we heard some guy shouting for help. We realised someone was in danger, and so I ran ahead and called 999. I jumped down next to him on the other side of the ledge, and it was pitch black, so I landed on literally about a centimetre of water and then just solid rock.”

Owen said that as he landed he broke his foot, although due to adrenaline he didn’t feel much pain at the time. “I just got him out and got all this water off his lungs as he was coughing out loads.”