Express & Star

Man rescued from canal in Wordsley

A man had to be pulled from the canal in Wordsley after falling in the water and becoming stuck in the early hours of New Year's Day.

Published
The stretch of canal

Firefighters and paramedics received a call to the scene, near Dock Road, at about 2am after a concerned resident heard the man calling for help and called 999.

Crews from West Midlands Fire Service donned dry suits and got into the water to pull the man free, who had become stuck in the mud at the water bed.

He was then taken to hospital by West Midlands Ambulance Service as a precaution.

Justin Lewis, age 49, of Bracken Park Gardens was first to rush to the man's help after he heard shouting just before 2am.

He said: "I had been in bed 10 minutes when I heard someone shouting 'please help me'. So I went out with my torch and saw this man waist deep in water.

"He was clearly distressed and thrashing about. I tried to help by telling him where to move his feet but he couldn't move at all. I called the fire brigade and they arrived about 20 minutes later.

"I'm glad I went out, you never know otherwise. Hopefully he will be OK."

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