Three ‘selfless’ Doncaster officers praised for saving man’s life after he jumped into river

PCs Oliver Langton, Jack Gascoigne and Connor Bluck put the safety of a stranger above their own as they saved a man from potentially drowning in a river after he tried to take his own life.

The three officers attended to reports of a man on the wrong side of a Doncaster bridge as they stopped traffic and began communicating with him to try and bring him to safety.

The man repeatedly said he did not want to live anymore, and, when he jumped off the bridge into the river below, the three officers raced along the bridge and down to the riverbank to try and bring him to safety.

After a passing member of the public spotted the man in the water and went into the river herself, PC Langton removed his heavy police body armour and utility belt to wade into the river.

PC Langton was so determined to bring them both to safety that he entered the water despite knowing that he was not a strong swimmer.

Reflecting on his actions, he later admitted that he "did not want to let a member of the public put themselves in harm’s way while he stood idly by".

Amid fears of a fast-flowing current and the unresponsiveness of the man in the water, PC Langton was able to reach both members of the public, with the woman assisting our officer in bringing the man to safety.

At this point, PC Gascoigne had also entered the water to aid the rescue effort, with all three returning to the riverbank before PC Bluck attended to the man in distress.

The man was then carried away from the bank to receive support from South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service officers before staff from Yorkshire Ambulance Service took over the care of the individual.

All three officers have since been presented with awards from the Royal Humane Society (RHS) - a British charity which awards medals, testimonials and certificates for acts of bravery in the saving of human life.

The member of the public who entered the water to try and save the man has also been given an award for her bravery by the RHS, with Andrew Jackson, secretary of the RHS, praising PCs Langton, Gascoigne and Bluck for their “magnificent impromptu teamwork”.

Reflecting on the officers’ achievements, Doncaster District Commander Chief Superintendent Pete Thorp said: "The primary duty of police officers is to preserve life and that is exactly what PCs Langton, Gascoigne and Bluck did in this challenging set of circumstances.

"Every officer displayed selflessness and bravery in this incident to genuinely save a life and their actions typify what policing is really about.

"They should all be immensely proud of what they did, and I am grateful to the Royal Humane Society for recognising their life-saving actions.

"We often don't get the chance to share some of the demanding, harrowing and traumatic situations our officers have to deal with it, and it's important these actions are recognised and applauded."