A pleasant nature ramble at Downholland Cross along the canal towpath today took an unexpected turn.
Four of us were minding our own business rambling along when Jasmine and Jessica, who were several yards ahead of us, came over with tales of a 'body' on the towpath.
I went ahead and discovered an elderly lady lying down who at first seemed unconscious.
Cath offered her a drink of water as the ongoing heatwave had obviously taken its toll and got the better of her. She was confused and making little sense, so we called for an ambulance.
The problem was that we were about a mile from the nearest exit on the towpath, which was a public house.
After some red tape difficulty explaining to the emergency assistant, who was running through the Covid questions on her lengthy template checklist, I finally nailed the location.
By now the lady was standing, so we slowly set off back for the exit. It was so hot too, with temperature in the 30s.
I beckoned to a helpful couple who were passing us in a boat. Thankfully, they stopped and we managed to get the bewildered lady aboard.
By the time we reached the pub car park the ambulance was waiting. The dehydrated elderly lady’s address was eventually discovered, and all ended well, as we left her in the capable hands of the paramedics.
Never underestimate the dangers of a heatwave - extreme temperatures can be deadly!
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