When these readers were in trouble, they discovered help can come from unexpected places
Breaking the ice
It was cold as my little sister Lesley and I left our ballet class to walk home.
Although we were just seven and four, we didn’t have far to go and our parents trusted us to head straight back.
As we walked past a big pond, I noticed that it had frozen over.
‘I wonder if I can walk on it,’ I said to Lesley.
But the moment I put my foot down, the ice cracked.
As I was plunged into the freezing water, I just managed to grab hold of two tufts of grass to stop me being completely submerged.
On the bank, Lesley burst into tears.
There weren’t many cars around, but thankfully one passed by and spotted me clinging to the grass.
Seconds later, I felt strong hands pulling me out of the water. I was wearing my best coat with its fur collar, and I must have been very heavy.
My saviour squatted down in front of me to check I was OK.
‘I’d better drive you two home,’ he said.
So we sat on his back seat, totally soaking the upholstery.
When we arrived and he told Mum what had happened, she couldn’t stop thanking him.
After that, we got a lecture every winter about not stepping on the ice.
It gave me a healthy respect for water, and now, more than 60 years on, I’ll swim happily in a pool but I’m nervous about open water.
Had that
man not been there to save me, I could easily have drowned.
From Adrienne Hinton, 68, of Burnley, Lancs
Along for the ride
I looked at the clock at work, and quickly packed up my stuff so I could make it to the hospital for visiting time.
I’d recently lost my dad, and now my mum had been admitted to hospital with COPD.
Every evening after work, I would go to keep her company.
It meant getting two buses home, with a wait in the freezing cold in between them, but
I didn’t mind.
It was so late, I was often the only passenger on the buses and I noticed it was always the same driver on the first one.
One night, as I was climbing off to wait for the next bus, he called out to me.
‘You might as well stay on,’ he said. ‘Save you waiting outside in the cold.’
‘Oh, that would be amazing,’ I replied.
Every night after that, the driver, whose name was Ken, did the same and we’d chat until my next bus.
‘You’re a good daughter for visiting,’ he said, kindly, when I told him about
my mum.
Soon after, Mum was moved to a different hospital, and I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye and thanks to Ken.
But his simple act of kindness made a huge difference to me at one of the hardest times of my life.
From Amy Christian, 39, of Sheffield
Cushion crisis
After meeting friends for coffee in town, I caught the bus home.
I’d made the journey in my wheelchair plenty of times, but today, as we bounced along, I felt myself slipping out of the seat.
My new pressure cushion doesn’t fit properly! I thought.
It was the wrong shape for the seat, and was pushing
me out.
Seeing the panic on my face, a young man standing opposite asked if I was OK.
‘I’m not actually,’ I replied.
‘Can I do anything to help?’ he asked.
‘You can try!’ I said.
He wrapped his arms around me and helped me back into my seat, while another passenger shouted: ‘Stop the bus!’
The driver pulled up and came to see what was happening.
Together they got the cushion out from under me.
‘Thanks so much!’ I said.
I asked the young man his name, and he said it was Alex.
‘It would’ve been awful if I’d fallen out,’ I said. ‘I could kiss you!’
His look of alarm very clearly said: ‘Please don’t!’
When we reached my stop
I thanked him again, before wheeling off and blowing him a kiss.
From Karen Dennis, 61, of Barnstaple, Devon
A JAW-dropping rescue
Standing outside the corner shop with my pals, we opened the packet of jawbreakers and took one each.
They were the new ice-cream flavoured ones everyone had gone mad for, and we couldn’t wait to try them.
But minutes after popping one into my mouth, I laughed at something my friend said, and the sweet got lodged in my windpipe.
I was only seven and the big round ball filled my entire throat.
Struggling to breathe, I began to feel dizzy.
My pals, who had no idea what to do, were just staring at me in shock.
Then a passer-by spotted
what was happening, ran over and gave me a huge thump on the back.
The gobstopper flew out across the road and I gulped in some huge, welcome breaths.
When I looked up, the man was gone, and I hadn’t had the chance to say thank you.
Back at home, I told my parents, but they thought I was exaggerating.
Looking back now, I was incredibly lucky that man came along.
Sometimes I wonder if he was my guardian angel!
From Lisa Tomlinson-Cowie, 48, of Billingham, Co Durham
My water-FALL!
I packed up some ham sandwiches and a flask of tea, then climbed in the car with my hubby and daughter.
We were off to see High Force waterfall, in County Durham.
I’d always loved waterfalls and rivers and now I was losing some mobility, I wanted to see as many as possible while I still could.
It was just as spectacular as I’d imagined, and we walked to the top to admire the view.
But just as we were about to head back down, I felt myself slipping on the wet rocks.
I love water, but I don’t want to go in like this! I thought.
I cried out and a young man grabbed my arm.
He began slipping too, but managed to right himself and haul me back up.
‘Oh my God, my hero!’ I gasped. ‘Thanks so much!’
My husband and daughter ran over and thanked the man too.
‘I think I need to sit down and drink some tea,’ I told them.
It was only back home later, that it really hit me how much worse it could’ve been.
That brave stranger had saved me from a watery grave!
From Sue Just, 63, of Kendal, Cumbria