A Perth police sergeant who saved an injured and disorientated pensioner from a 50-foot drop down a sheer cliff face is to receive a top award.
Fearless Alan Pettigrew put all thoughts of his own safety to the back of his mind as he rescued the 76-year-old at Kinnoull Hill.
The sergeant struggled through thick undergrowth to reach the pensioner, who had previously been reported missing from Perth Royal Infirmary.
Sergeant Pettigrew is set to receive a Royal Humane Society Testimonial on Parchment following his role in the dramatic rescue, which took place on October 24.
He also won the personal praise of the society’s secretary Dick Wilkinson.
Announcing details of the award at the society’s London headquarters, he described how Sergeant Pettigrew had been out riding his mountain bike when he heard a shout for help.
He stopped and heard another shout coming from the direction of the cliffs about 20 metres away.
“The area was completely obscured by trees and hawthorn bushes so PS Pettigrew called out in a bid to find the man,” Mr Wilkinson said.
“He established that the pensioner was in difficulty and distress on the edge of the cliffs.
“PS Pettigrew made his way back to the summit to try and get a clear view over the cliff edge but could still not see the man.
“He contacted Tayside Police control room at Perth and requested the services of the search and rescue team before returning to fight his way through the bushes.”
Rather than waiting for back-up to arrive — and despite the dangers inherent in the situation — Sergeant Pettigrew quickly went to the aid of the stricken pensioner.
“After making his way through the bushes PS Pettigrew was able to see and speak to the man, who identified himself as a patient who had been reported missing from Perth Royal Infirmary four days before,” Mr Wilkinson said.
“He was extremely cold, had injured his shoulder and did not think he could walk.
“He was lying a few feet from the edge of a cliff with a drop of around 50 feet.”
With the pensioner’s position very clearly life-threatening, his rescuer wasted no time in pulling him to safety.
“PS Pettigrew carefully made his way to the man and then dragged him about six feet back from the cliff edge to a relatively safe point from which he could be rescued,” Mr Wilkinson added.
“While waiting for help to arrive PS Pettigrew cleared a path through the bushes and constantly reassured the man.
“Due to the extremely remote location it took 40 minutes for the search and rescue team to reach him.”
Mr Wilkinson said there is no doubt the injured man would have died were it not for Sergeant Pettigrew’s selfless actions.
“The man, who had become disorientated by his medication and had wandered off, was taken back to hospital with a broken arm and hypothermia,” he said.
“Were it not for PS Pettigrew he would almost certainly have perished out there on the hill.
“The weather had been closing in at the time and it is unlikely anyone would have visited the hill after this officer, who was in the right place at the right time to carry out a highly commendable rescue.”
No date has yet been fixed for the presentation of the award, which has been made on the recommendation of Sergeant Pettigrew’s bosses at Tayside Police.
The hero himself is enjoying a well-earned holiday but a spokesman for the Royal Humane Society said it was envisaged that an award ceremony would take place “in the near future.”