A Fenland police officer who rescued a seriously injured motorcyclist from a water-filled drain after he went flying through the air following a crash has been commended.
PC Harvey Nutton was travelling home from work on the afternoon of July 17, 2017, when he witnessed a crash between the motorbike and a car in Sandbank, Wisbech St Mary.
Realising the occupants of the car were OK, PC Nutton then searched for the motorcyclist, a 31-year-old man, who had been thrown through the air and disappeared from view.
He heard sounds coming from a reed bed in the drain, which was about 10 metres wide with steep sides.
PC Nutton discovered the injured rider laying submerged in the water, so he entered the water himself and held him up until the emergency services arrived and the man was taken to hospital.
The collision happened at the junction of Seadyke Road with the B1166 where there had been reports of other incidents in recent months and years.
One motorist from Parson Drove who stopped said at the time: "I use the road daily and it's the worst junction I have ever seen."
He was supported by other residents and motorists who echoed his thoughts that more safety consideration should be given to the junction. One driver felt a mini roundabout was the best solution.
One resident posted on a pubic Facebook forum at the time: "So after another accident on the Leverington Common St Mary's/Murrow/Parson Drove crossroads!
"When will highways and the local council take action and do something about it to reduce the accidents?
"I use the junction daily and seen near misses every single day.
"And it's not just people who don't know the junction. One of my vans was a complete write off when a local driver who didn't stop and went in to side of one of my vehicle. Luckily nobody was hurt in that incident."
Magpas air ambulance flew to the scene of the collision and the man was taken by land ambulance to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kings Lynn.
"He was in a stable condition upon arrival," said a Magpas official at the time.
The Magpas medical team also assessed a second patient (also in his 30's) who had sustained chest injuries. They gave him advanced pain relief and he, too, was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
PC Harvey Nutton was commended by Cambridgeshire Police's chief constable Nick Dean on Thursday night (November 14).
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