The pensioner has thanked the crew that saved him following his fall.
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A grateful pensioner has thanked firefighters who rescued him after his mobility scooter plunged down an embankment in South Shields.
Syd McDonald, 90, has praised Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS) after they helped to rescue him from Simonside Metro Station earlier this month.
The 90-year-old was rescued by firefighters after his scooter rolled on high of him, pinning him to the bottom, on a steep embankment.
The alarm was raised on Tuesday, 7 November by a young man who was passing by the embankment after listening to Syd’s cries for assist.
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The incident took place close to to the metro station and outdoors the boundaries of the Metro line.
The scooter was too heavy to raise, and Syd was in ache, so the passer-by known as 999 earlier than firefighters from South Shields and Hebburn Community Fire Stations, and paramedics have been deployed to the scene.
Syd, who’s a widower, was married to his late spouse Margery for over 45-years. They moved to Simonside within the early Nineteen Sixties – the place Syd has lived ever since.
The retired articulated lorry driver was out getting some contemporary air when he tried to show the scooter round on the slender pavement and plunged down the embankment.
Luckily the metal fencing on the backside of the embankment stopped Syd and the scooter from going any additional.
Once the crews arrived on scene they have been capable of assess and devise the most secure method of rescuing Syd after his accident.
Syd mentioned: “The fire and ambulance service did a marvellous job that I will always be grateful for.”
Syd was taken to hospital for a precautionary test as much as have his accidents assessed, however he was later launched nursing a badly grazed wrist.
He added: “I don’t make jobs easy for folk”.
Syd was accompanied to the hospital by his good buddy Ann Powell – who he’s recognized for over 50-years.
On the day of Syd’s accident, Ann, 78, had simply obtained home after visiting him earlier within the day. She dropped him a fast telephone name to say she’d obtained home safely, just for a firefighter to reply the telephone to verify Syd had been concerned in an accident.
Ann mentioned: “I really did fear the worst. I thought that Syd had been badly hurt.
“I was in bits when I saw the blue flashing lights. But what can I say, the emergency services were brilliant.
Crew Manager Dan Jones of Blue Watch at South Shields Community Fire Station, said: “Syd was lying partially under his scooter which a passer-by had helpfully held up until we arrived. Two Firefighters descended the short bank to assess him whilst other crews moved the scooter off of Syd and up the bank using a rope and pulley system.
“Once that was clear we were able to properly check him for injuries. Luckily he had only sustained a minor abrasion to his wrist so we assisted Syd onto our specialist rope-rescue stretcher and used it as a sledge which we hauled it up the bank with ropes and pulleys.
“Our Firefighters waiting on the path carried out further medical checks until the ambulance crews arrived and took over.”
Crew Manager Jones added: “Both Blue Watch crews from South Shields and Hebburn Community Fire Stations helped with Syd’s rescue and were glad that his injuries were slight. We train constantly in our specialist rope rescue skills and they proved invaluable on this occasion.
“It was great to see Syd up and about, and able to joke about the incident, although he does realise just how serious it could have been.”
The Fire Service would all the time advise anybody working automobiles comparable to mobility scooters to take additional care when manoeuvring in tight or precarious areas.
