Man rescued from river thanks 'true hero'

Dan Walker said he had never been so scared in his life

A man who was rescued from the River Severn in Shrewsbury has thanked the man who saved him and called for better safety measures in the town.

Dan Walker went into the water on 4 April and described rescuer Will Mowbray as a "true hero".

Mr Walker, who is 31 and from the town, said he had tried to haul himself out, but his feet became stuck in the mud.

After the recent deaths of two other young men in the river, he described himself as "the lucky one".

The bodies of Toby Jones and Nathan Fleetwood were both recovered in the past few weeks, but Mr Walker said: "This has been going on for years and years, people have been petitioning the local council for years for better railings."

He said he wanted more of the river fenced off and more CCTV cameras to help locate missing people.

The BBC has approached Shrewsbury Town Council for a response.

Will Mowbray was treated for hypothermia after rescuing Mr Walker

Mr Walker said his memories of the incident were still vague in places, but Mr Mowbray had "never let go".

The rescuer said he had been walking his girlfriend home when he heard the cries and was able to hold Mr Walker's head above the water until help came.

"I was in the water for about 30-40 minutes, he was in there for much longer," Mr Mowbray said.

Mr Walker injured his spine and has been told he will be in a wheelchair for a long time, but hopes to one day be able to walk with the help of sticks.

Speaking about the river, he said: "It's a nice place to walk down with your family and kids and it can be picturesque and I can understand wanting to go there."

But he urged people to be careful, especially if they were out with their children and advised people to not go out for a drink near the river by themselves.

"If you do fall in, you are going to get stuck in the mud and it's almost impossible to get out," he warned.

"I just don't want anyone else to ever go through that."

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [e-mail]