Two freshers rescued from river by Boathouse bouncers

Two Durham freshers were rescued from the river by bouncers from The Boathouse.

They fell into the river under Elvet Bridge in the late hours of Friday evening, close to the area where  Sope Peters disappeared in October 2013.

The pair had apparently fallen seven feet off a four-foot wall and down a three-foot bank into the cold river.

They are believed to be students from the Queen’s campus in Stockton-on-Tees.

A witness told us: “I was walking down the steps towards Klute when I heard someone call out a name before falling into the river.

“It was two guys who’d fallen in, both first years. One was giving the other a piggyback.

“The Boat Club bouncers immediately rushed over to where they had fallen in before pulling them out.

“Both of them were sent to the police station and given £90 fines, along with two silver insulation blankets to use on their journey home.”

“Neither of the two young men were visibly more intoxicated than the rest of us when I spoke with them half an hour prior to the incident. Understandably so, both are quite shaken by the incident.

“Thankfully both of them are OK, but the outcome could have been much more tragic were it not for the actions of the bouncers.”

The bouncers in question were Daniel Thompson and Olly Tims. Mr Thompson, who is a forces veteran, told the Durham Advertiser: “I saw a pair of trainers go up in the area and back over a wall. I thought, that’s a student.

“I ran down the stairs and shouted to Olly and he followed. I expected to find one student but there were two.

Mr Thompson and Mr Tims helped both students out of the river, one of which was in water over his head, the other in water up to his waist.

Following the rescue, Mr Thompson said they took the students to the VIP area of The Boat Club, where they were given dry clothes and checked over by an ambulance crew.

A Durham Police spokesperson said two males had been issued with fixed penalty notices for causing alarm to members of the public.

The incident comes in a time when concerns are high over the safety of the river, following the deaths of three university students in the past 15 months.

This has led for calls among the student population of increased river safety measures, including fences and barriers, rather than just the need to tackle excessive drinking.

Links have been drawn between irresponsible drinking habits of the students and lack of river safety, leading to a major safety initiative being introduced into the city, which includes measures such as door-step breath testing, activating night buses and taxi services to help drunk students get home safely, and student-led river patrols.

However, several locals have expressed their disapproval at the measures, as Durham County Council contributed £50,000 towards an educational campaign.