Camelon granddad jumps in to Forth & Clyde Canal to rescue woman

Davie Buchanan was in The Canal Inn shortly after 9pm on Sunday when the woman called for help, saying they had both fallen into the icy water but she had managed to get herself to safety.

He and others raced down the towpath next to the Forth & Clyde Canal to help her friend.

Without any thought for his own safety, Davie, 62, jumped into the water and managed to get the woman to the bank where she was lifted to safety.

He said: “You don’t think twice in situations like that. You just do what you can.

"I never even thought to take my jacket off, just emptied out my pockets and jumped in.

"You could see she was in trouble and drifting in and out of consciousness so something had to be done.”

Emergency services quickly arrived at the scene and the woman was taken to hospital, but was released earlier this week.

A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “We were made aware of concern for a woman in the canal near to Canal Street in Camelon around 9.10pm on Sunday, September. 17

“The woman was recovered and taken to hospital by ambulance.”

Davie, a painter with coachbuilders Alexander Dennis Ltd, returned to the pub and finished his drink – despite canal water still dripping off him.

Married with two sons and three grandchildren, the Camelon resident added: “I’m just glad she is okay. Over the years there have been too many people who have drowned in that stretch of canal. Thankfully this wasn’t another one.”

Fraser Cromar, the owner of The Canal Inn, said the two women had been in the pub and had left to walk down the towpath towards the Beefeater.

He said: “They were in my pub but in no way were they drunk when leaving. They had linked arms to walk down to the Beefeater and when going down a slight slope one lost her footing and they both fell in. Only by luck was one of the girls able to pull herself out and raise the alarm.

“By the time my staff and Davie got back down to where they had fallen in the other lady was so tired she couldn't try to get out.

“Davie jumped in without a second thought and between them they lifted her out, got her into the recovery position until the emergency services arrived. A then soggy Davie then came back into the pub to dry off (and finish his drink). We now call him the Camelon Davie Hasselhoff and we presented him with a pair of red Baywatch shorts.”

But Fraser said the incident highlight the lack of lighting and safety flotation devices on this stretch of the canal, an issue he said that he and other community groups have raised previously with Scottish Canals and local councillors.

He added: “I have applied for and talked with Scottish Canals about putting a decked area outside my pub on the canal side including a hand rail etc which would have included floatation devices and safety rings. However I was refused as it was a health and safety risk and someone could fall in.

"This incident could have had a very tragic end, without the community spirit we might have been reporting something far worse.”

Brian Auld, Scottish Canals head of health & safety, said: “We are very sorry to learn of this incident and we would encourage the members of the public to reach out to us so we can understand more about the circumstances surrounding what happened.

“We take our responsibility for public safety very seriously and we regularly inspect all areas of the canal, including our towpaths, to ensure they are maintained in a safe condition.”