National Police Bravery Awards: Fed member nominated after ‘life-or-death’ reservoir rescue

7 May 2025

The heroics of a Federation member who rescued a vulnerable elderly lady from freezing cold water has been rewarded with a nomination for the 2025 national Police Bravery Awards.

On a winter morning in December last year, Derbyshire Constabulary received a brief 999 call from a distressed woman in her eighties who expressed an intention to end her own life – not seeking help, but rather reporting an incident ahead of time.

She informed the Force she was going to enter Ladybower Reservoir, situated in the Upper Derwent Valley, advising that police would be able to find her through the whereabouts of her car parked up on an embankment.

PC Matt Thomas was one of the first officers responding to these critical circumstances, racing to a rough section of the reservoir basin based on the woman’s information alongside PC Donna Twort.

Vehicle

Determined to intervene, Matt then got to work immediately, quickly locating the vehicle in question – with the woman nowhere to be seen – and narrowing down the search area for him and his colleagues.

“Finding the car was the easy part,” he said, reflecting on the incident. “It was the middle of December, still quite early – around 8am – and it couldn’t have been much colder, out in the open air.

“But you’re not bothered about yourself – all I could think about was that poor woman in the water, not only in physical pain but mental and emotional pain too, clearly feeling like there was nowhere else she could turn to.

 

PC Matt Thomas

 

“It was all about finding her and getting her to safety, before it was too late.

“At this early point, there was four of us [police officers], and a fire engine on a nearby bridge. We all knew what we had to do, and we separated to search as much of the reservoir as possible.”

Matt then began scouring the reservoir’s surface for any sign of the victim, walking along the surrounding terrain.

Attention

Minutes passed without this coming to any fruition, until a ‘faint speck’ on the water suddenly caught his attention.

“I thought it was a duck at first – it was pretty far out, about 15, 20 feet or so,” the 22-year-old continued.

“But then I saw a hand, and before I could even think, I was running down the embankment and taking my kit off.

“In this kind of situation, time is never going to be on your side. I knew there was no way we could possibly wait for the fire service to get a boat out to her, so I just had to go in.

“I waded through, and when I eventually got to her, she was groaning without being fully responsive. I just got her out as quickly as I could.”

With the victim now out on stable ground and slipping in and out of consciousness, officers rallied around her as an ambulance made its way to the scene.

Despite being fresh out of these highly dangerous conditions himself, Matt was very much one of these cops at hand, with his own recovery from the excruciating cold barely an afterthought.

Hospital

Paramedics eventually arrived to stabilise the woman with full medical attention – the absence of which had made her core body temperature of 27 degrees Celsius life-threatening – before she was taken to Northern General Hospital in Sheffield.

Thankfully, she made a full recovery from this precarious state and was given close support for her mental health moving forward.

“I am just so glad she was okay in the end – at least physically – and that I did decide to go into the water, because it could have gone another way otherwise.

“I knew I had to act quickly and decisively because the time which had passed throughout the whole incident was significant, to say the least. The feeling I had was that it was a life-or-death situation.

“I do remember how cold that reservoir felt, but from that point on, I think my adrenalin just put a blanket around me. It was one of the moments you just have act, rather than think.”

Now, Matt, who has been in the Force for three-and-a-half years and is based on response in Glossop, High Peak, will go onto the national Police Bravery Awards in recognition of his vital intervention that day.

He looked ahead to July’s Bravery Awards ceremony, which he is set to attend with his partner, Jessica.

Nomination

“To be honest, I think I’m still processing the nomination itself at the moment – I was so shocked to receive it, but really proud as well, of course.

“It will be a real honour to be there at the Bravery Awards, alongside so many officers who have done amazing things, so once I’ve got to grips with the idea, I will be very excited,” he ended.

Reflecting on Matt’s nomination, branch secretary Kirsty Bunn said: “I would like to commend Matt for his incredible actions in a critical incident.

“December mornings are already cold enough on the frontline without having to wade through a reservoir, but he went above and beyond to rescue a vulnerable member of the public, and for that he deserves tremendous credit. 

“Even before this point, it was clear to see Matt was determined to do everything in his power to preserve life.

“His decisiveness has now earned him a nomination for the Bravery Awards, and he should be very proud.