Sunderland man who fell in brutal sub-zero weather thanks Good Samaritans who saved him

Retired porter Ralph Wilkinson, 66, fell in a field opposite St John’s Evangelical Church, in Church Street, Shiney Row, on the evening of Wednesday, December 14, when temperatures were -3°c.

After being stuck for over an hour, Ralph’s calls for help were eventually heard by Denise Welch and Barry Williams, both from Shiney Row, as they were leaving a service at the church.

After investigating the noise, the pair were shocked to find Ralph, lying on the floor, unable to move, drifting in and out of consciousness and freezing cold.

Denise, 46, a full-time carer, reacted quickly to warm Ralph up and call for an ambulance. The crew were able to tend to Ralph and later take him home safely.

Speaking about the moment she found Ralph, Denise said: “We heard a shout for help and thought it was kids playing in the snow, but then we heard again and went towards it and saw that it was a man stuck on the ground.

“He was freezing cold and going in and out of consciousness. I got someone to ring 999 straight away and was worried he had hypothermia because he was so cold. His pulse was very low at one point and we were really worried about him.

"I’m first-aid trained so I think I just went into auto pilot.”

At the time, Ralph was heading back to his home in Shiney Row after attending a pensioners party nearby, but doesn’t remember much of the incident due to losing consciousness.

He said: “My feet and my legs gave up in the cold weather and I fell down and struggled to get back up. My wife has bad feet so I put her in a taxi earlier in the night and thought I’d walk home.

!I remember having breathing difficulties and seeing Denise had heard me was definitely a relief.”

A spokesperson for North East Ambulance Service said: "We received a call at 9.44pm on Wednesday 14 December to reports of a person unwell on Church Street, Houghton-le-Spring. We dispatched an ambulance crew who treated and discharged one patient on the scene."