'You just do what you need to do': Police volunteer saves life during first shift
A River Nene rescue confirmed policing was the right path for a young special constable
Special constable (SC) Sophie Hyde said helping save a man's life on her first day with Northamptonshire Police reinforced her decision to volunteer with the force.
The 21-year-old was among three police colleagues involved in the rescue of an unconscious man from the River Nene after police received a report of concerns for his welfare at 19:40 on 30th July.
Northamptonshire Police said officers worked alongside Northampton Search & Rescue and the National Police Air Service (NPAS) after a member of the public found the man's rucksack beside the river.
The man was found in the water opposite Elton Quarry at about 23:20 BST.
Hyde was the officer who spotted him in the river and illuminated his location with a torch while fellow SC Lorna Montecalvo swam out and towed him towards the bank. SC Pete Isom also entered the water and helped bring the man to safety alongside a member of the public.
Police said the actions of the three volunteers saved the man's life.
Tactical Flight Officer Ian Worthington, from NPAS, said: "I cannot praise the actions of these three officers enough."
"It is quite clear that this man's life was saved by the officers' actions."
Hyde's ambitions to join the police as a volunteer started long before her first day on duty as a special constable.
"The original plan was to join as a regular full-time police officer," she said.
"At the time I wanted to do it but I weren't too sure whether I wanted to give up my job and go straight in without not knowing whether it's for me."
Instead, she applied to become a special constable to gain experience of frontline policing before deciding whether to pursue it as a full-time career.
"I thought I'd go for it because even though it's a voluntary role and you don't get paid, it's massively fulfilling," she said.
"You get to experience what the job's about and decide whether it's for you or not."
"You get to help your community, you get to go out and communicate and engage with people, and you get to gain all these life skills.
Hyde said becoming a special constable allowed her to explore a career in policing without giving up existing commitments.
'Made me more confident'
Reflecting on her training, Hyde said it had boosted her confidence and prepared her for the realities of frontline policing.
"I really enjoyed my training," she said.
"I think it's made me feel a lot more confident in myself and my decisions and the way I deal with situations.
"It does set you up for difficult situations. It's very scenario-based, so they try and prepare you for as much as possible."
She added that while training could not prepare officers for every eventuality, recruits were made aware of the challenges they could face.
"Obviously they can't help you prepare for everything, but they do make you aware that you might be going to things that are particularly difficult or things that you may not want to see," she said.
Looking back on the rescue, Hyde said instinct took over when the officers realised the man was in danger.
"When you receive a call about a concern for a man's welfare, there's always going to be alarm bells in your head," she said.
"You forget you're in uniform and just do what you would do to help, whether you're on duty or not"
"We realised he was in serious danger when we'd seen him there in the river and I think that's when our fight-or-flight kicked in.
"I think I can speak for all three of us when I say we didn't think at all, we just did.
"It was all an unconscious thought. You don't get to decide what you're doing in that moment, you just do what you need to do."
Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet said the officers represented "the very best of policing".
"They saved this man's life, and we are extremely lucky to have them at Northamptonshire Police," he said.
For Hyde, the experience confirmed that joining the special constabulary had been the right decision.
"I think it was a good way to decide whether this path was for me," she said.