Middlesbrough Woman Saved From Freezing Harbour

Police saved a Middlesbrough holidaymaker from the freezing sea in Whitby in an early morning rescue.

North Yorkshire Police got a call at 1.50am on Monday 30 January 2012 from a 39-year-old woman from Middlesbrough, who was in distress and threatening to jump from the West Pier.

Officers raced to the harbor but as they got close to the woman, who was stood by the lighthouse, she fell from the pier into the water.

Police threw her an emergency life ring and she managed to climb inside and was pulled back towards the harbor wall.

As 3ft waves broke over the woman’s head, the Whitby inshore lifeboat pulled her semi-conscious from the sea.

A waiting ambulance took her to Scarborough Hospital where she was treated for exposure to the cold, water inhalation and various cuts and bruises.

Sergeant John Webb, of Whitby police, said: “Thanks to the quick response from the officers involved and the lifeboat crew, the woman was rescued from the water before she came to any serious harm.

“The swift actions of the people involved more than likely saved her life and she is expected to make a full recovery from her ordeal.”

The woman remains in Scarborough Hospital where her condition is described as stable.