Woman, 65, relives horror plunge into garden well

A 65-YEAR-OLD woman has described the terrifying moment she plunged towards the bottom of a well, knowing that when she reached the water she would not be able to stay afloat.

Denise Brooks, who has never learned to swim, was trying to free a water pump to fill her duck pond when she slipped.

Sitting with her husband Mike, 63, in their garden in Abbots Morton, Worcestershire, yesterday, Mrs Brooks said she feared the worst when she lost her footing and plummeted towards the bottom of the pitch-black well. She said: One minute I remember seeing the wall of the well, and the next minute I'm just plunging into the water.

"It was frightening, knowing you can't swim and thinking, are you going to come back up again?"

After getting stuck in the well, she managed to release the rope from the pump and tie it around herself to stop herself from sinking. Her husband called the police, fire and ambulance staff to their home at 3:50pm on Monday. Mrs Brooks was brought up from the well 90 minutes later.