25/11/2025
Thank you South Lakes Police for sharing, this again is a reminder to the importance of early CPR intervention!
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Yesterday (23/11) Area Beat Officers and Response colleagues from Unit 2, Kendal responded to an incident on the outskirts of Sedbergh.
We know that, whenever sirens are heard or where the air ambulance arrives speculation and concern often follow so in this case we wanted to provide a brief update.
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This incident involved a report that a kayaker, as part of a recreational group had got into difficulty on the water, near to Birks and that, as a result, he was unresponsive.
CPR was commenced and multi agency response was initiated.
The first emergency service vehicle arrived on scene around 5 minutes after the call to 999 was made.
As police officers at such incidents we always prepare for the worst case scenario, in readiness to pass news on to a casualties next of kin. It is without doubt one of the hardest parts of the job.
In this case the outlook was bleak from the outset.
Fortunately, other members of the kayak party were conversant with CPR, basic life support and had begun life saving actions without any hesitation with emergency services taking over and utilising a mobile defib machine to deliver the required shock.
We'll never know the impact of this early intervention directly other than to confirm that this afternoon we have received confirmation that the male, who had been placed in an induced coma, was suffering with hypothermia and cardiac issues was upright and talking to his loved ones from his hospital bed.
The initial assessment of his critical condition had been downgraded.
This incident serves as a very real reminder that ANYONE has the ability to preserve life. If you have the opportunity to learn CPR or basic first aid - PLEASE TAKE IT!
When it comes to situations such as this, every second counts and the power is literally in YOUR hands!
We continue to be in awe of the swift and efficient actions of our emergency services colleagues within the Ambulance (land and air) and fire service!
We continue to send our best wishes to the casualty and hope his recovery is swift.
Sedbergh Fire Station North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust Great North Air Ambulance Service North West Air Ambulance Charity
