Two Wigan response officers’ quick-thinking helped save a man’s life after he was seriously injured during a fight involving a machete.
Two Wigan response officers’ quick-thinking helped save a man’s life after he was seriously injured during a fight involving a machete.
PC Ellen Fazackerley and PC Rebecca Hamer, who are based in Leigh, were called to the incident in January this year. It had been reported numerous people had been fighting and that a machete was involved.
PC Hamer was first at the scene, where there were two seriously injured men inside a house with a smashed window and bloodied walls, furniture and floor.
Remaining calm, PC Hamer spoke to both men and requested an urgent ambulance due to the heavy blood loss. One man was bleeding heavily from a wound in his leg and a second man had a deep cut to his hand and also needed urgent medical attention.
Without hesitation the officers administered life-saving treatment by applying a torniquet to the man’s leg.
PC Hamer said: “Initially when I arrived at the scene, the street was quiet with no one around and something didn’t seem right. I then saw a man from a distance slightly lift his arm and so I went over to him. This is where I saw the windows had been smashed and there were three men there – one of whom had been injured.
“The men told me the offenders had left the scene and I raised a call for an ambulance due to the bleeding coming from the injured man’s hand. I then asked who else was in the address, which is when I was told a friend of theirs was in a ‘bad way’ in the living room.
“There was blood all over the floor, walls, and furniture. The second injured man was on the couch and had a wound to his leg and a slash wound down his chest – he had heavy blood loss and required urgent medical attention.”
PC Fazackerley recalled: “When I arrived, I immediately got the first aid kit out of my car and one out of the other officer’s car due to there being more than one causality.
“I went into a house where there was a male losing blood from his leg wound covered by his jacket. I took a pressure bandage out of the first aid kit and applied it as I didn’t want to risk the flow of blood getting worse.
“I applied pressure to the wound as it was still bleeding through the jacket, but this wasn’t enough so that’s where I made the decision to apply the tourniquet – it was my first time doing this out in the field, but I felt confident doing it due to the good first aid training we get.”
