“We were so lucky that such a kind man happened to find us when we needed it most” – injured woman expresses her gratitude to Derbyshire Police officer
A woman stranded in a remote area of the Peak District after suffering an injury has expressed her gratitude towards an off-duty police officer – who waited with her for several hours before ensuring she was taken to hospital.
Sergeant Chris Street, from Derbyshire Constabulary, was on a birthday walk in Hathersage with his children when he came across an injured woman. She had hurt her ankle while walking in a remote part of the Peak District, which left her unable to continue.
Sgt Street said: “We were up in the hills above Hathersage, and going up a footpath in the middle of nowhere we came across a woman sat in the path.
“I went over to see if I could help, she said she’d heard something ‘grate’ in her ankle, which was bruised and swollen. She was clearly in a lot of pain.”
The injured walker said: “My partner and I were frightened and helpless as I could not walk, did not have a car, and were in a remote and unfamiliar area.
“Chris and his three children stopped when they came across us on their family walk. He proceeded to wait with us for three hours for an ambulance, helping us explain where we were to the dispatcher, helping me hop down a hill to make us easier to find, and honestly just making us laugh.”
After finding out the ambulance was unlikely to arrive until the evening, Chris began the 90-minute walk back to his car, before he came across a member of the public with a vehicle nearby.
Sgt Street said: “This man was picking up his son from an expedition, I explained that I was a police officer and asked him to take the woman and her partner to Hathersage village to be closer to help.
“Fortunately, he was on his way home and very kindly offered to take them to QMC on the way.
“As part of my role, I’m used to helping people in distress and keeping them calm – going through my repertoire of bad jokes. My kids were just happy the walk had been cut short, and it’s been really nice to get a letter to say thank you too.”
Finishing her thank you message, the woman added: “Chris' calmness and humour put me at ease and made my partner and I feel much less afraid. We were so lucky that such a kind man happened to find us when we needed it most.”