This footage shows the moment the police helicopter found a man and his dog who was stuck in the mud for almost seven hours in north Suffolk.
When 67-year-old Martin Kay took his dog Holly Blue for a walk around Thornham Parva on January 18, little did he know he would wake up later that night in West Suffolk Hospital.
While taking his dog out, after leaving at around 2.30pm, he got stuck in mud. Unable to get up, and with temperatures dropping, and repeated unsuccessful calls for help, he lost consciousness.
Incredibly, his loyal dog stayed by his side until he was found by officers at around 9pm, with the help of the National Police Air Service helicopter, based at Wattisham.
Mr Kay said: “Fortunately I don’t remember much of it.
“I remember it beginning to get dark – when I first fell the sun was out.”
Suffolk police were called at 7.30pm after reports he had not returned home.
Local officers were sent to the village to begin searching for him in the vicinity of his home and his usual route for walking the dog.
The search was then assisted by the police helicopter who successfully located him by a footpath, around half a mile from roads or properties.
Today, Mr Kay visited Wattisham Airfield to meet the helicopter crew and police officers who rescued him that evening and have a look around the aircraft.
Recalling the day, Mr Kay said: “I tested the surface with my boot there were hard patches and go from one hard patch to another but it obviously was not firm enough.
“I struggled for some time and I was getting weaker and weaker. I got my chest up but couldn’t get my legs up.
“Time went by and it was beginning to get dark – I called for help and drifted.”
Mr Kay also joked he was not panicking about the situation, as it was too cold. Pc Clare Wayman, Pc Neil Wisken and Pc Luke Allard, who were the first officers on the scene, believe the temperature was between minus two and minus three degrees.
“I wasn’t optimistic about anyone hearing me but I thought someone would find me or someone wouldn’t,” Mr Kay said.
Of his dog’s actions, Mr Kay said: “It was the first and the last time she had been called into action. She’s a very loyal dog.”
He added: “She’s quite well behaved most of the time!”
Pc Wayman said: “Obviously it was a field in the middle of nowhere with no street lights so we were relying on torches and the helicopter.”
Pc Allard added: “If it wasn’t for the thermal imaging of the helicopter we wouldn’t have found him.
“I couldn’t see him when I saw Blue.”
David Bazlinton, who was in the helicopter the night Mr Kay was located, said: “On our own we couldn’t have done it, on their own the officers on the ground couldn’t have done it but together we could – that’s what we do.
“It was the best result.”
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