Two Essex Police officers who courageously plunged into the freezing cold December sea to rescue what appeared to be a drowning man and woman have won an Essex Police Federation Bravery Award.<\/p>\n
PC Andrew Perry and Temp Sgt William Bowen were called to assist after reports came in that a couple were desperately trying to stay afloat in the stormy and dark sub-zero waters off Harwich Beach.<\/p>\n
The officers only had the light from their torches to see what was happening during the incident, which took place just three days after Christmas in 2020.<\/p>\n
The torches were just powerful enough for the officers to see at least one person in the waves in what appeared to be chest-high water around 20 metres from shore.<\/p>\n
Risking their safety, the officers dived into the water and swam\/waded out to carry out the rescue.<\/p>\n
Temp Sgt Bowen managed to get to the woman, who the officers then helped back to shore. Once back on the beach, the freezing Temp Sgt Bowen administered vital first aid and kept the woman warm as ambulance crews arrived.<\/p>\n
Before rushing to help his colleague, PC Perry had been wading in the rising swell, trying to find the man witnesses had claimed to have seen struggling and shouting for help in the rising surf.<\/p>\n
PC Perry realised that the reports of a second missing man may have been incorrect and had been prompted by the fact that some of the woman\u2019s clothing was floating and bobbing in the waves.<\/p>\n
A missing man was not reported, and no further casualty was found.<\/p>\n
The woman later told officers she had been attempting to take her own life. She made a full recovery and got the mental health treatment she needed.<\/p>\n
PC Perry said a passer-by had directed the officers that a man had been struggling to stay afloat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could see there was a lady there, floating, and we were told that a man had just gone under,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo without thought, it was basically a case of just taking my kit off and getting in there.<\/p>\n
\u201c[I radioed in] to explain we\u2019re going into the sea. I thought it was an arm floating around. So I\u2019ve grabbed hold of that arm, and as I\u2019ve pulled it, it was an item of woman\u2019s clothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The witness was adamant that she had heard a man calling for help, so PC Perry continued his search while carrying his torch above the waves. Realising the Coastguard were on the way and not being able to see the man, PC Perry decided to assist his colleague with the woman.<\/p>\n
Incredibly both officers just carried on with their shift after the dramatic rescue. However, PC Perry said he had been very grateful for the change of uniform and underwear rushed out to him at the station by his wife.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt that time of year and at that time of night (10.30pm), the chances are we\u2019ll have to go into the sea ourselves in these incidents,\u201d PC Perry added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I was a hero, I was just doing my job, but it is nice to get a pat on the back for doing a good job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Temp Sgt Bowen said the only thing on his mind as the officers got on the scene was the welfare of the woman they could see floating in the water.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a bit of clich\u00e9, but you\u2019re doing your job; you\u2019ve got that in front of you,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cAdrenaline kicks in, and you just try and do your best.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the first initial thought was just relief, that she was okay and there wasn\u2019t somebody else in the water. It all runs through your head about how you could have gotten there quicker and more you could have done. So it was a massive relief and probably a bit of pride later on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not many jobs you can say that your actions may have saved someone\u2019s life. So there is a lot of pride there. It\u2019s why I joined the police, to try and help people.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nice to be recognised at the Awards.\u201d<\/p>\n
Essex Police Federation Chair Laura Heggie said both officers reacted with true police instinct to get into the water to protect life.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are so proud of the actions of Andrew and William,\u201d said Laura. \u201cIt would have been pitch dark, freezing cold and the officers had no real idea of what was out there when they went into the sea to try and save lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an incredibly courageous and selfless thing to do. Andrew and William were determined to make sure no other casualty needed their help which is to their enormous credit.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice officers are much more than crime fighters and these two can give Baywatch a run for their money.<\/p>\n
\u201cAndrew and William are very deserving winners of an Essex Police Federation Bravery Award.\u201d<\/p>\n
PC Perry and Temp Sgt Bowen will attend the Essex Police Federation Bravery Awards on 26 May where an overall winner will be announced.<\/p>\n
The Awards are in Association with Uniform Mortgages. The hashtag for the event is #EssexFedBravery.<\/p>\n
If you are affected by this story, please call the Samaritans https:\/\/www.samaritans.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two Essex Police officers who courageously plunged into the freezing cold December sea to rescue what appeared to be a drowning man and woman have won an Essex Police Federation\u2026 read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":188490,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188522"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=188522"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":188593,"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188522\/revisions\/188593"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/188490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=188522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=188522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=188522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}