'Hero' PC saves dog from freezing lake in Potters Bar

PC Jake Pike was off-duty in a pub when he spotted the dog in trouble

A "hero" off-duty police officer jumped in a freezing lake to save a dog that had got in trouble.

PC Jake Pike was in a nearby pub when he saw the dog, called Heidi, run into the lake in Oakmere Park in Potters Bar on Wednesday afternoon.

The Hertfordshire Police officer's "instinct kicked in" and he removed his shoes and coat, jumped in for a "few minutes" and brought her to safety.

But PC Pike said he would "discourage anyone" from doing the same.

"I thought I was the best person to go in. The lake was absolutely freezing, my hands still feel like blocks of ice," he said.

"I knew the lake really well, including the depth of it, and I weighted up the dangers of going in. But I would discourage anyone, especially young people, doing the same thing as it can be extremely dangerous."

PC Jake Pike was looked after by the pub and later taken to hospital after saving the dog

After getting out of the icy lake, he was given chef's whites to change into by the pub and was seen to by the fire brigade, who had been on the way to help Heidi.

Steven Cooper, who lives in the area, was walking through the park on his way to the lunch and said "that's when the drama unfolded".

Mr Cooper said: "I was joking with my wife 'I wonder if you can cross the lake?'

"Then we heard someone shouting 'Heidi, Heidi, Heidi' and looked up and saw a dog scrambling through the ice and she wasn't getting out.

"I could see a guy who came to the edge of the lake and saw him kicking his shoes as if he was going to get in."

Mr Cooper said he saw PC Pike wade though the water and when he got to the dog he "pushed it forward, and when he got to a point when he could stand up he scooped up the dog and carried her out".

PC Pike was branded a "hero" by the dog's owners for his actions.