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Passer-by rescues Surrey cyclist from river after she slipped while riding on towpath

Incident happened near Farncombe Boat House in Godalming this afternoon

Surrey Fire & Rescue have taken to social media to praise a quick-thinking passer-by who rescued a cyclist from the River Wey after she slipped while riding along the towpath and fell into the water.

The incident happened at around 3pm this afternoon close to the Farncombe Boat House in Godalming, reports Surrey Live.

The woman, who lives locally and is believed to be aged in her 60s, was reportedly riding with her partner at the time.

Peter Hector, who owns the nearby café Hector’s on the Wey, told the website: "It was probably someone walking along, not paying attention, that made her go to the side, because it took her off the towpath and she toppled over.”

He said that the couple were regulars at the café and that he often saw them cycling by the river.

"They are always on their bikes on the towpath, it's not a strange route for them," he explained.

Surrey Live says that a member of the public who was passing by pulled the woman and her bike from the water, before fire crews and a rescue boat that had been alerted reached the scene, and the emergency services were subsequently stood down.

The woman was checked over by paramedics at the scene as a precaution before being taken home.

"She was shaken up and shocked a little bit," Mr Hector added, "but well."

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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3 comments

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LastBoyScout | 5 years ago
1 like

Friend of mine's wife once fell into the river while cycling along a local tow path (slipped on a root) - all we heard was a splash and him shouting "Don't worry, love, I've got the bike"!  4

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Sriracha | 5 years ago
2 likes

I've had a near miss with the water whilst getting used to clip-in pedals on a tow path. How I didn't topple in with my feet still firmly attached to the bike I'll never know. Yes, I was going dead slow to negotiate some pedestrians. No, it would not have been their fault - it's a tow path, not a velodrome. I do know this, the wife would have died laughing.

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fenix | 5 years ago
1 like

A pedestrian gets the blame ?
Seems a bit odd to say that given the bloke wasn't there.

Maybe ask the lady or eye witnesses what happened ?

Glad it all turned out ok in the end though.

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