Heroic coastguard given top award for saving teenagers

A HERO coastguard who waded into a raging river to help two stranded teenage girls before they were airlifted to safety is set to be honoured for his actions.

Ian Grant, a retained member of the South Queensferry Coastguard team, took the decision to jump into the River Almond at Cramond to go to the aid of the girls who were in danger of being swept further downstream.

He kept them safe as they waited for a rescue helicopter – and injured himself in the process as he shielded them from falling branches.

Mr Grant, 30, a support worker with Lothian and Borders Police, said the commendation award he is set to receive was for the whole team involved in the rescue.

The drama happened in August 2008, after heavy rain left the river fast flowing.

Five girls out walking by the river bank, just up from the Cramond Boat Club, had fallen in after loose earth collapsed.

While two were able to pull themselves out immediately, three were swept downstream.

They were plunged over a large weir, and after being churned up in the water, managed to grab some rocks at the side. One of the girls was able to pull herself out, but the others were so terrified they did not know what to do.

On arrival, the coastguard team decided they would need to be winched out by helicopter, and that someone would have to get to the girls until it arrived.

Mr Grant said: "It was very dangerous, as these girls were clearly agitated, and it looked like they might try and get themselves out before the helicopter arrived, so we decided someone had to go in and get them.

"Myself and Stewart Pringle, who knows the waters really well, went across with a rope and got them to the side.

"They had been in the water for a while and were frozen. When the helicopter arrived, the downdraft blew off a branch of one of the trees and I had to shield the girls, so it struck me on the shoulder.

"I got them out first, but I had to be airlifted to hospital as well, although it was nothing serious."

The two girls, aged 13 and 15, were unhurt in the incident, and Mr Grant made a full recovery from a chipped shoulder bone.

He has now been recognised by a commendation from the chief coastguard in the UK, although he admitted feeling "a little sheepish" because the rest of the team were not given the same recognition.

Joe Mitchell, the coastguard section manager for South Queensferry, agreed that it had been a team effort, but said Ian, like the rest of the team, should be proud of their work.

He said: "There's no doubt that Ian and Stewart helped to save their lives by getting in there and keeping them calm until the helicopter arrived, and the whole team should be congratulated."