High School kids hailed as ‘heroes’

A group of high school pupils have been hailed as heroes by the family of an 87-year-old Welshpool man who suffered a serious injury after falling on the canal path.

Ray Goodwin was walking towards the town centre shortly before 4pm on Friday when he took a tumble on the slippery canal path near Little Henfaes.

In agony and unable to move, a group of around six pupils who were walking home from school came to his aid and ensured the dangerous situation didn’t end in tragedy.

“We can’t thank those youngsters enough for doing what they did,” said Mr. Goodwin’s son, also called Ray. “They saw what had happened and without any hesitation they all came to an elderly man’s aid and their actions prevented it becoming a lot worse for my dad. They are heroes in our family’s eyes and their parents and the high school can be very proud of them.”

Mr. Goodwin’s leg had slipped underneath him and a later diagnosis showed he had suffered a broken hip. However, the kids all rallied round and ensured help was called while he was being looked after by them on the scene. One of the youngsters even picked up all of Mr. Goodwin’s money from the path and returned it to his pocket.

Mr. Goodwin was refusing an ambulance but one of the pupils recognised him and rushed to the home of his second son, Mark. He responded in his car and was helped by the kids in getting Mr. Goodwin to the car and returned home.

“They couldn’t do enough to help and were in no rush to leave, instead they wanted to ensure dad was OK,” added Ray. “I am sure one or two may have been in trouble for getting home late from school but their immediate actions were vital as dad was in a bad way and it was getting cold and night was drawing in.”

But the drama continued for Ray senior. On returning home, the pain intensified so an ambulance was called. However, due to a crash on the Guilsfield Road and several other emergencies, there was no ambulance available so he had to wait.

However, in another stroke of luck, an off duty paramedic was walking his dog past the house and offered to help. Due to the pressure on the emergency services it was nearly four hours until an ambulance arrived to take Mr. Goodwin to hospital where he has since undergone major surgery.

“Thankfully dad is starting a long road to recovery but all he has been talking about is the actions of those youngsters,” said Ray. “They are a credit to the town.”