A grateful gran has thanked rescuers who hauled her from an Ayrshire beach after she broke her foot. Irene Wright, from Shilford, near Barrhead, has heaped praise on crews who rushed to her aid after a nasty accident at Port Carrick beach, near Culzean Castle, left her unable to walk.
The grandmother-of-two, 62, was out with husband Peter, 61, when she went over on her ankle on a grassy path near to the historic site on Sunday. The pair were taking a child they provide respite to on a day out to the beauty spot when disaster struck.
Irene snapped two bones on her foot in the painful fall, which left her in agony. The retired childminder had to be taken off the beach by sea after fast-responding coastguard teams were unable to get any vehicle access onto the shoreside spot.
Girvan RNLI used a smaller dingy boat to whisk Irene off the beach to their all-weather lifeboat, which then raced her to Maidens, near Turnberry, where paramedics were waiting. Irene said: “All I knew was I was in extreme pain. I’d went over a large stone on a grassy path.
“We were trying to take a child we provide respite to, to see some of the caves along the beach. I wasn’t even being particularly adventerous, it was just bad luck.
“I limped down to the water to put my foot in the water to see if that would ease the pain. Unfortunately, it didn’t work and I started to think I might have broken something.”
Irene’s husband Peter immediately called the Culzean park rangers, who were at the scene within minutes. They were quickly followed by coastguard teams and Girvan Lifeboat, who all descended to the beach to help Irene.
After being ferried off the beach to Maidens, Irene was sent to Ayr Hospital where medics assessed her and sent her home within two hours. She faces six weeks in a moon boot as she recovers from breaks to her third and fourth metatarsals.
Irene admits it wasn’t the day she had planned, but is extremely grateful to all those who helped. She said: “All the services were extremely professional.
“I want to personally thank Ashley Evans from National Trust Scotland. I’ve still got her NTS fleece which she brought down for me.
“My husband also wants to thank the Belfast Coastguard, in paritcular Gavin and Lawrence, for making sure I was okay and I wasn’t getting any worse. All the coastguard rescuers were great with me too.
“The lifeboat crew were also amazing. Gary was the lifeboat guy who took charge. They gave me gas and air, which was such a relief.
“The lifeboat is such a vital service. We actually watch Saving Lives at Sea all the time never actually thinking we might need their services.”
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