A BRAVE vet has spoken of his efforts to save a man he pulled “lifeless” from a canal.

Gary Stevenson, 28, sprung into action after he noticed the man had fallen into the Forth and Clyde canal on Monday.

He was out for an evening jog and another walker told him he had seen someone in the water as the canal passes through Ruchill.

Glasgow Times:

Gary, who has recently returned from New Zealand where he worked as a veterinary surgeon, said: “I saw the man, fully submerged in a standing-up position in the water.

“I pulled him up by his arm and asked the other guy to help pull his leg out the water and then called the ambulance.

“We had the ambulance on loudspeaker while I performed CPR on him.”

At the time of writing, it is believed the man was being treated at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary.

Gary was able to rescue the man and attempt to save his life because, as a vet, he has had medical and first-aid training.

“It was quite scary, pulling out a lifeless body from the canal, but it’s lucky I have medical training so I knew what to do.

“Because I’m used to being in emergency situations, you just go into autopilot and do what you can to save the person.

“I was surprised there was nobody out because the canal is usually quite busy with people out on their bikes.”

Had Gary not been there to help, things could have turned out much worse.

He said: “He probably wouldn’t have had a chance.

“He had been in the water for about four minutes, I think, so any longer and he would have had zero chance.”

Gary explained the cold water actually helped save the man’s life: “When your heart stops, you only have a few minutes before you get permanent brain damage, but with hypothermia, it reduces the brain’s demand for oxygen so it bides you a bit of time while you resuscitate a person and gives you a better chance of potentially surviving.”

Glasgow Times:

As of midday yesterday, the man was in Glasgow Royal Infirmary receiving treatment.

His condition is not currently known.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said yesterday: “Around 9.15pm on Monday, May 4, 2020, officers were called to the report of a man being pulled from the canal near to Firhill Road in Glasgow.

“The man was removed from the scene by ambulance to Glasgow Royal Infirmary where he is currently being treated.”

  • Got a story? Email hamish.morrison@newsquest.co.uk
  • Keep up to date with all the latest in North Glasgow here