Wha's like us... Geoff Burvill

OF ALL the tales of derring-do to emerge from the Ice Storm, Geoff Burvill's is hard to beat. He may be 66, he may be suffering from Parkinson's Disease, but when the Scot witnessed the plight of a distressed young girl who had slipped into a freezing river shortly after the bells on Hogmanay, he didn't hesitate.

Seeing the tipsy woman emerge from a pub on to sheet ice leading down to the water in Norwich, Geoff, formerly of the Army Air Corps and a commercial pilot, smelled trouble and followed her.

When she slipped in, he grabbed her and, with great difficulty in the dark and cold, hauled her ashore. She made a full recovery. What's more it is now the second time that the Dundonian has saved a life. In 1966, he dived into Dundee harbour to rescue a boy who had fallen in.

Forty-three years on, Geoff showed that his sense of humanity had not dimmed, despite his advancing years and his own medical condition. The Parkinson's Disease Society said: "This is an amazing story of bravery, not least by someone who may have problems controlling movement." We can only agree.