A security guard has been hailed a hero after he rescued a Sunderland grandmother when her mobility scooter broke down at the side of a busy road.
Gary Underwood, who has worked for Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS) for over 20 years, has just started his nightshift on April 23, when a colleague raised the alarm that a woman was in need of help on Nissan Way, just off the A1231.
Gary went to speak to 49-year-old Carol McDonald who told him that her scooter and phone had run out of charge after she got lost trying to find her way home.
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The kind-hearted security guard brought her into the TWFRS headquarters in Washington to charge up the scooter and arranged for her to be taken home.
This week, the pair have been reunited when Gary and Carol met up with Deputy Chief Fire Officer Peter Heath to share their experiences.
Gary, 60, from Hebburn, said: "It can be a very busy road – I just wanted to make sure she was safe.
“We were doing our security shift handover when someone mentioned a lady on a mobility scooter was seen to be upset near the building’s back gates. So I immediately went out to see if I could help in any way.
“When I got to Carol she was understandably distressed and panicking. She explained that she’d become lost and disorientated after taking a wrong turn.
“Both her scooter and mobile phone had subsequently run out of charge at the same time so she couldn’t call her family for help and was stranded at the side of the road.”
Gary towed Carol and the scooter back to the fire service headquarters where he was able to put the mobility vehicle on charge and called her family to pick her up.
"I was glad to help in any way that I could and to see that the incident had a happy ending," Gary added.
Grandmother-of-two Carol said she had been travelling from her home in Town End Farm to her daughter's work in Washington when she broke down at the side of the road.
“If it wasn’t for Gary I don’t know what could’ve happened to me!” said Carol.
“I didn’t know what to do when the scooter ran out of charge after I’d taken a wrong turn. To be honest I started to panic when I realised I couldn’t contact my family as my mobile phone had also died.
“I was really upset as I didn’t know what to do. It was freezing by the roadside as the evening had started to settle in. Fortunately, a couple of motorists had stopped to ask if I was okay, and it was one of them who kindly notified Gary.
“It was a definite sense of relief when Gary came over to help me as I didn’t know how I was going to get out of the worrying situation.
“In this day and age, it’s lovely to know that people like Gary are still out there who care for others and are willing to go over and above the call of duty.”
Praising Gary's heroic actions, TWFRS Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Peter Heath, said: "Gary is a friendly face that greets fire service staff and visitors to our service headquarters, and the compassion and warmth he has shown to Carol and her family should be greatly applauded.”
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