Life saving trio wins Essex Police Federation Bravery Award

Three Essex Police officers who entered rising sea water in Southend to save a group that included an injured child have won an Essex Police Federation Bravery Award.

Insp Tony Adams, Temp Sgt Amy Butler and PC Josh Woodcraft are being recognised at the Federation’s second annual event for their superb police work, dynamic decision making and their courage.

It was in June 2020 when the trio responded to a report of one woman and three children being stuck in the mud a mile offshore Chalkwell Esplanade. The coastguard, ambulance and fire service were all requested within minutes of Essex Police receiving the call.

One of the children, aged 15, had a condition that meant they had a particularly low blood count. This child had suffered a significant cut to their leg that went down to the bone and they were losing a lot of blood.

The woman with the children updated the control room that the tide was coming in, and the group was struggling to walk back to shore. She added that the 15-year-old was becoming very light-headed due to blood loss and was about to pass out.

Southend Borough Council CCTV assisted in finding the group and directed officers to the location.

Further information came from the woman that the children were turning blue and the water was rising higher. Insp Adams declared this a critical incident and requested the force duty officer be made aware. Insp Adams made his way to the scene with Acting Sgt Butler and PC Woodcraft.

There were crowds forming at the scene, placing additional pressure on the officers, who were waiting for other emergency agencies who would have been better equipped to enter the dangerous water.

But CCTV provided an update that two of the children were now neck-deep in water, and as no other agencies were present the officers made the brave decision to enter the water to save the people’s lives.

The officers made their way out in the mud, through the rising water. Thankfully they managed to assist all four people back to shore, where ambulance and other agencies had arrived and were able to provide them the assistance needed.

Insp Adams recalls: “My wife worked in detention in Southend Police station at the time and came out of custody and into my big open office, and said to my sergeant, ‘Where’s Tony…?’ and he pointed up to the CCTV screen. She could see me going in the water and apparently she shouted at them, ‘But he can’t swim!’.

“I’ve grabbed hold of the baby from the woman, turned round and Josh was there so I said, ‘Right, you grab the baby, I’ll take the rest of them’, because the other two… You had the young person who had the cut to his leg, but the other two could walk. So basically I grabbed him and took him up, and the water was up round our chests.

“Josh went in with the baby and I basically took them back to the sand. But another couple of minutes, that would have been it.”

Insp Adams said he was “overwhelmed” to be winning a Federation Bravery Award.

He added: “The reality of it is it’s something that somebody in our organisation does every day, really. You just do it. It’s what you do.”

Laura Heggie, Chair of Essex Police Federation, said: “Once again this incident displays the courage of our Essex Police officers and how we do much more than just fight crime each and every day.

“If these officers hadn’t made the dynamic decision to go to the aid of the members of the public, this incident may well have ended very differently.

“It was clear that this course of action was not taken lightly and there was a good understanding of the capabilities of other blue-light services, however the risk to life guided the officers to put the needs of the members of the public first.

“This was an even bigger decision than it seems by the fact that Insp Adams can’t even swim. Mind you the risk they took in the water was nothing compared to the one Insp Adams faced when walking back into the station to be met by his wife who is a member of police staff and had been watching it all unfold on the big screen via CCTV at the station in disbelief.

“I commend them for their bravery and quick-thinking.”

Inspector Adams, Temp Sgt Butler and PC Woodcraft will attend the Essex Police Federation Bravery Awards on 26 May where an overall winner will be announced.

The Awards are in Association with Uniform Mortgages. The hashtag for the event is #EssexFedBravery.