Boy Rescued from Disused Well

A 15-year-old boy from Oswestry was rescued last night after becoming trapped down a disused well.

Two fire crews from Oswestry and a specialist Rescue Tender from Wellington were sent to the scene, where on arrival the Officer in charge was confronted with several youths who told him that one of their friends had fallen down the well.

Specialist line safety was used to lower a firefighter five metres down the well to check the condition of the youth. Additional line safety equipment was then attached to the youth and he was successfully pulled up to the surface.

The 15-year-old boy was treated by ambulance personnel at the scene and was lucky not to have received any serious injuries.

It appears that the lid of the well had been removed by some of the youths and thrown into the nearby lake. The boy had then fallen down the well whilst playing around the opening.

Station Officer Neil Grove said, "Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service urge children not to play near any open water or by any open wells or sewers. Luckily on this occasion nobody was seriously hurt, but the circumstances could have ended up very differently."

20th April, 2006