"I thought I was going to die in the River Rother, but this man saved me. He is my hero"

A Sheffield woman who was pulled from the River Rother by a heroic pensioner has said she will never forget her saviour.

On Sunday, June 9, 2024, Hayley Moffatt, of Driver Street in Woodhouse, fell into a secluded part of the river near Waverley whilst out on a walk with her dogs. It is at least 7ft deep and, with no suitable banking to haul herself out, Hayley was in trouble.

“I couldn’t get out,” she said. “I panicked and I was screaming... I need to get out, but I’m not going to get out. There’s nobody here and no one is going to find me.

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“I thought I was going to die. People would probably be thinking ‘where is she?’ and I thought they wouldn’t find me until it was too late.”

Time slowed down, Hayley felt she was fighting the river for nearly 30 minutes. It was freezing cold and, at 9 o’clock in the morning, there didn’t seem to be anyone around.

Then, another dog appeared - a sign someone was nearby.

“I went into overdrive,” Hayley recalled. “It was ‘Please, please, help me!’. I was reeling off all these ‘helps’ and then I saw him.”

72-year-old Ken Greenwood was answering the call.

Hayley said: “He was aware of the surroundings and didn’t put himself in danger as well. He told me to keep calm and said ‘I’m going to try and get you out and if I can’t we’ll call the fire brigade, but you need to keep calm’.”

Ken threw Hayley one end of his dogs lead.

“I managed to clip the dog lead around me and he got a good stance,” Hayley said. “He just used all his might and pulled me up and I got out.”

It was a scramble, but the nightmare was over, and 39-year-old Hayley cannot believe they did it.

She said: “I’m not the lightest of people and this gentleman is a very slender old man. It was miraculous that he managed it.

“I don’t know where he got that strength from, but I can’t thank him enough.

“If he had not been there I think I would have died. I was very, very emotional. He didn’t have to stop and he could’ve just walked on and left me there. I’m so grateful for him.”

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“He’s my hero... He’s my saviour”

In all the fuss, neither Hayley nor Ken thought to share any details with each other - something they both later came to regret.

Hayley said: “I didn’t take his number. I saw a post on the S13 Facebook group saying ‘My Dad has just saved a lady and he’s worried about you’.

“I said I would really like to meet him again and say thank you.”

The pair met near Ken’s house on Tuesday, with Hayley returning Ken’s dog lead to him after losing her own in the river.

“As soon as I saw him I started crying,” Hayley said. “I was so close to not being around for my own children...He’s my hero and not all heroes wear capes. That’s what he is to me, he’s my saviour.

“I will always think of him and remember him for the rest of my life.”