Volunteer officer risks life to save woman from sea at Felixstowe

Kyle Scott was wearing his full police uniform, including a stab vest, when he plunged into the sea to rescue the woman

A volunteer police officer said "it was a natural reaction" to brave ice-cold water and hazardous conditions to rescue a drowning woman from the sea.

Kyle Scott pulled the woman to safety after spotting her face down in the water off Felixstowe, Suffolk.

The special constable was wearing his full police uniform when he dragged her out of the sea on 7 March 2023.

Mr Scott has been nominated for a Police Federation of England and Wales Bravery Award.

"You see someone in trouble, you don't take into consideration your own safety, you just go into autopilot," he said.

"It's only afterwards that you think you could have got taken out to sea yourself."

It was a blustery day with temperatures of about -2C (28.4F) with the sea at high tide when Mr Scott spotted the woman in the water

Mr Scott was on patrol in Ipswich when a call came in about a high-risk missing person.

He headed to Felixstowe's seafront where he saw the woman face down in the water.

It was a blustery day with temperatures of about -2C (28.4F) and the sea was at high tide.

Mr Scott said: "It was very cold, and I didn't know what the sea and the currents were doing.

"We carry a lot of kit, wear stab vests. In hindsight, you'd want to take some of that off, but you go into autopilot that you've got to help someone and it takes over."

The woman was unresponsive and it was a struggle to get her out of the sea, but he managed to get her to the water's edge.

Members of the public then helped him drag her to a shingle bank, where they provided first aid and tried to keep her warm until paramedics arrived.

Darren Harris, Suffolk Police Federation chair, said Mr Scott "acted in the best traditions of policing, displaying incredible bravery".

Mr Scott was working as a 999 call handler at the time and now works in a custody suite as a civilian investigator.

The Police Federation's bravery awards ceremony takes place on 11 July in London.

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