Colchester: Rural officer rides to the rescue

A new rural bike patrol proved its worth when Sergeant Ben Felton rode to the rescue of a woman who had fallen in a Colchester woodland.

Ben was patrolling on his mountain bike in Friday Woods, off Bounstead Road, yesterday morning, Thursday 29 September, when he was flagged down by a local woman worried about her 60-year-old mother-in-law who had had a serious fall somewhere in the woods.

The woman had received a text with rough directions but was finding it hard to locate her.

Ben immediately started to search tracks, woodland and fields on his bike, and found her just 15 minutes later in an isolated field about a mile away from where her daughter-in-law had been.

Ben is on our Rural Engagement Team and was out on one of our first rural cycle patrols in the area.

“I was glad to help. All officers are trained in first aid so, after reassuring her, I checked her shoulder injuries and made her comfortable.
“I called for an ambulance and then gave some basic first aid before directing in the ambulance service’s Hazardous Area Response Team.  
“They strapped her arm and slowly walked her out before taking her to hospital for further medical attention.
“Thankfully, I was in the area on my bike. It gives me the mobility to cover ground quickly in off-road locations so I was in the right place at the right time.”

 

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