Meet the hero college instructor saving lives on Glasgow's River Clyde

Simon Palmer, a senior nautical instructor, was able to pull a woman to safety from the river last month after he was alerted to a person being in the water by a member of the public.

Shortly before 2pm on Wednesday, November 8, Simon was in his office when he noticed a rope and lifebuoy dangling from the Victoria Bridge and assumed someone had knocked it off.

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He explained: "I then saw a lump in the water and thought ‘I hope that’s not a person’ and then a passer-by outside whistled and said, ‘there’s a person in the water, can you launch a boat’."

Simon immediately sprang into action and grabbed a lifejacket before jumping into one of the lifeboats which thankfully was already in the water and ready to be launched.

He said: "As I approached, I could see she was on her back which was a good sign and I saw her blink which was an even better sign.

"I got to her, grabbed her, pulled her up and got her into the boat. She was breathing very strongly."

It is understood the woman was taken to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital for treatment following the incident.

However last month’s incident is not the first time Simon has saved a life on the Clyde, with him saying he believes he has pulled at least four other people from the water since he joined the college in 1997.

He has also managed to stop other people from entering the water.

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Last year, Simon and his colleagues received a letter from the Scottish Ambulance Service commending them for their help following an incident near Albert Bridge.

It read: "I feel the swift response and assistance by City of Glasgow College should be highly commended and I would like to personally thank the staff who attended and helped.

"It was extremely brave and they showed no hesitation in helping the patient."

Simon and his colleague Tommy Catterson, along with the faculty, have also received an award in the past for helping the Glasgow Humane Society.

While Simon has been praised for his life saving skills, he remains modest about his experiences.

He said: "We haven’t done it that much.

"Over the 26 years I’ve done a couple but usually with other people.

"Last time Tommy was with me but this time I was by myself, it was the first time I did it myself, but I just did what I teach them [the students]."

He added: "You’d hope anyone that’s up here driving a boat would do it."

Simon joined the college’s Marine Skills Centre 23 years ago following a career in the Merchant Navy.

The centre offers a range of accredited deck, engineering, Oil and Gas, Offshore and maritime courses approved by the MCA, RYA, MNTB and other awarding bodies.

Simon and his colleagues teach Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boats and Efficient Deck Hand courses, amongst others, to a range of apprentices, cadets, students and professionals, with cadets and students coming from across the UK, India, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.

The college runs about 30 lifeboat courses a year with up to 12 people on each course, meaning Simon and his colleagues are passing on their skills to around 360 people a year.

Dr. Paul Little CBE, principal and CEO of City of Glasgow College: "This is a remarkable incident involving bravery and expertise in equal measure and Simon deserves a huge amount of credit for swiftly putting his professional life-saving and rescue skills into action and saving a person’s life. 

"When Simon launched the college’s rescue boat and headed out on to the River Clyde to help someone in their moment of need, it was testament to the world-class training and facilities we have at our students’ disposal at City of Glasgow College.

"For our cadets, it is an incredible demonstration that they are learning invaluable skills from the very best.  

"I know that Simon and his fellow senior nautical instructor, Tommy Catterson, have previously saved other people in the Clyde in similar ways and while they are modest about their exploits and consider it as just being part of their training, we recognise the gallantry in their actions and rightly consider them heroes."

If you are struggling and want to speak to someone, please call the Samaritans on 116 123.