A Fife police officer has been awarded one of the country’s top life-saving honours for rescuing a drunken teenage girl who jumped off a bridge into a river eight feet below.
PC Donald McGarva (35) who serves as a community police officer in Windygates will receive a Royal Humane Society testimonial on parchment for bravery after finding the 15-year-old girl near a bridge at the River Leven.
Society secretary Dick Wilkinson announced the award at the organisation’s London headquarters yesterday where he told of the day the girl in question was brought to safety by PC McGarva, following a difficult rescue.
“At the time of the incident the river was a fast-flowing river and about five-feet deep,” said Mr Wilkinson.
“The drop from the bridge was around eight feet. Police had received a call that the girl was threatening to jump from a bridge into the river.
“PC McGarva who was in plain clothes found her but she jumped the moment she realised he was a police officer.
“He called for back-up and alerted the fire and ambulance services and then went into the water after her.
“Initially the girl, who was drunk and abusive, was only up to her waist in water.
“But as the current forced her further downstream she got into deeper water and when it was over her shoulders she grabbed a piece of wood but the water then began flowing over her head and she was struggling to breathe.
“PC McGarva managed to reach her-she was about eight metres out in the water at the time and dragged her back to the safety of the bank.
“One of her friends then helped him pull her out of the water.
“PC McGarva knew she had a history of violence towards the police but still he approached her.”