A chance hearing of a cry for help from a collapsed pensioner led three Lanes Group drainage engineers to launch a rescue mission that his daughter says “almost certainly” saved his life.
The team had been on a mission of a different kind, to carry out sewer maintenance, when they heard the man’s desperate cry for assistance near a road in east Surrey.
The crews, who work on behalf of Thames Water, discovered him lying on the ground, his dog by his side. He had collapsed during a walk and could not get up.
A ‘huge thankyou’
Their quick thinking resulted in an ambulance being called to the scene for paramedics to provide the pensioner with urgent medical attention.
The drainage engineers, Stephen Woodham, Chezney Goddard, and Frank Jones, also called the pensioner’s daughter, allowing her to attend the scene and care for her father.
Thanking the Lanes Group team in a Facebook post later, she said: “Words aren’t enough, but I wanted to share a huge, huge thankyou to the team who stayed with my dad and his dog, while I travelled to meet them. They almost certainly saved his life.”
Making a difference
Waste Network Engineer Steve Woodham said: "Me and the team just did what anyone would do in that situation. We found him collapsed during a walk and, without thinking, we jumped into action.
“We knew we had to act fast, and thankfully we were able to help. I'm just really relieved we were there at the right time, and that he's doing okay now. It feels good knowing we made a difference."
The actions of the Lanes drainage engineers has now been recognised in a presentation made to them at the Customer Solutions Centre, in Slough, the Lanes and Thames Water joint operations HQ.
Showing Lanes values
Lanes Director Andy Brierley said: “The swift action and genuine compassion shown by Chezney, Stephen and Frank exemplifies the values we hold dear at Lanes Group.
"Their immediate response to help a vulnerable member of our community speaks volumes about their character. They were also able to put into practice the first aid training they receive here at Lanes Group.
"We are immensely proud of how the team handled this emergency situation, putting the gentleman's wellbeing first and staying by his side until help arrived.”
Lanes Group is Thames Water’s sole wastewater network service maintenance partner, delivering a wide range of services to clean, maintain and improve the sewer network for more than 15 million customers across London and the Thames Valley.