Cops who ‘formed human chain’ to rescue man from Chesterfield river praised with award

Four police officers who ‘worked tirelessly’ to rescue a troubled man who jumped into fast-flowing river in Chesterfield have been praised for their actions at the Derbyshire Constabulary Awards.
PC Lisa Sidall with PC Ian Nevin and Derbyshire Police cheif constable Peter Goodman.PC Lisa Sidall with PC Ian Nevin and Derbyshire Police cheif constable Peter Goodman.
PC Lisa Sidall with PC Ian Nevin and Derbyshire Police cheif constable Peter Goodman.

Constables Lisa Sindall, Ian Niven, Jade Finley-Rooker and Iain Tinsley were called to the scene after the man’s wife, concerned he would hurt himself, raised the alarm on April 3 last year.

Forming a human chain, they managed to pull the man to safety and get him medical help.

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PC Lisa Sindall, accepting a commendation on behalf of the team, said: “It was just the start of a night shift when we got the call about the job.

“When we arrived and we found his wife directing us to where he had jumped in but all we could hear was shouting because it was pitch-black.

“We managed to get down to the side of the river and found him clinging to the bank. The river was really fast flowing because of the recent heavy rain but we managed to get hold of him and then formed a bit of a human chain to try and get him out using a rope. It took a while, and with the help of colleagues from Derbyshire Fire and Rescue, we got him out.”

PC Ian Niven said: “This was actually my first night shift and I had just finished training school so it was really exciting. It’s this type of thing that I thought I would have been going to as an officer and that’s why I joined the police force. You try and remember what the training taught you – not to get the red mist and dive straight in and try and be a hero.

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“You’re trying to think about all the practical things while at the same time trying to manage your adrenaline.

“It is really that instinct to want to save people and put others first – that’s really why we do the job.

“You don’t think about the danger at the time you just think about saving that person.”

PC Sindall added: “We cleaned our boots off and we were onto the next job – we certainly never thought that we would end up with a commendation but it is really nice to be recognised at a night like this.”