Rescue pair earn award for heroism
Published: September 23, 2005
A YOUNG man and his fiancée who helped save the life of an elderly widow after she was brutally attacked were today being honoured with a hero award from First Minister Jack McConnell.
Robert Currie and Ruth Hood were put forward for the honour by police after their quick- thinking actions also led to the attacker’s capture.
Robert, a 22-year-old from Musselburgh, was walking in the town with Ruth last October when he spotted a man covered in blood.
Robert stopped him to check on his condition and learned that the thug had savagely beaten 89-year-old Janet Wallace in her home.
He forced the man to give him directions to the pensioner’s flat in a nearby sheltered housing complex and the pair eventually found her home in Watt’s Close.
After discovering the woman lying unconscious with blood all over the floor, Robert put her into the recovery position until ambulances arrived.
He later joined police in the hunt for the suspect and guided officers to his whereabouts, where an arrest was made.
Mr McConnell, below, was today set to present Robert and Ruth with awards at the First Minister’s Hero Reception at Edinburgh Castle, along with other recipients from across Scotland.
Robert said: “When I saw that guy covered in blood I knew I had to stop him as I thought he had been stabbed. After a while I got it out of him that he had attacked an old lady. He seemed out of it on drink or drugs.
“He gave vague directions about where it had happened so we looked around that area for about 20 minutes until we saw some smashed windows at the sheltered housing building.
“We went upstairs and could see blood inside one of the flats. It was all over the walls and carpets. The woman was lying on the living room floor. She was covered in blood too. It was like a horror film.
“After I put her in the recovery position I called for an ambulance.”
Once paramedics arrived, Robert joined police officers in their car to search for the man.
He added: “I had a friend who lived nearby and I told this guy to wait at his house. If he stayed there I said I would give him an alibi. Luckily, he didn’t move and the police were able to get him.”
Unemployed Robert, of Links Terrace, said he was “chuffed” to be receiving the honour.
“It will be a bit scary to meet all the politicians, but not as scary as that day,” he said. “But the important thing is that the woman survived. Doctors said she would have died if we had not got there in time to call an ambulance.”
Mrs Wallace, who now lives in Northumberland, was hospitalised for two weeks after the attack.
The attacker, former Royal Scot Kenneth Chisholm, 19, was jailed for eight years in March.
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