Bridgnorth river rescue

An off-duty soldier has been praised for saving a woman from drowning in the River Severn. Pte Andrew Simpson, 22, from the Mercian regiment, and another rescuer held a woman in her 50s above water until firefighters arrived. The incident happened close to Washbrook Road in Bridgnorth at about 21:20 GMT on Tuesday. West Midlands Ambulance Service said it would be writing to Pte Simpson's commanding officer. Pte Simpson said: "I saw a man in the river so I just jumped in and I thought it was him that was in trouble and that's when I realised he was holding on to a woman. "He couldn't hold on for much longer so he got out of the river and I held on to her until the fire brigade arrived. "To be honest the adrenalin kicked in and I didn't really feel the cold until afterwards but my body temperature was right down."

The soldier, who is based at Catterick Barracks in North Yorkshire, was checked over at the scene but did not require hospital treatment. The ambulance service said the woman was treated at the scene for hypothermia, before being taken to Telford's Princess Royal Hospital. It said it was unclear how long she had been in the water.

The ambulance service said it would also be writing to the other rescuer, a 56-year-old man.