Snow trap man thanks rail temp Jody
A Black Country father stranded in heavy snow could have died of hypothermia had it not been for the prompt actions of a railway temporary worker, it emerged today.
Chris Fisher, aged 41, of Dudley, spoke out to thank the London Midland helpline adviser he claims saved his life.
He became ill after spending more than three hours outside in the snow at the unmanned train station in Ledbury, Herefordshire, on Tuesday.
He had reached stage three hypothermia, and said he is only alive thanks to the woman who convinced her bosses to pay £130.90 for a taxi to take him home, and rang him every five minutes to make sure he was still conscious.
Mr Fisher, , of Oak Street, Netherton, said: "I wasn't very well wrapped up and I soon became quite ill.
"I knew I was in trouble when I stopped shivering, which I recognised as a danger sign that your body has started to shut down."
Stage three hypothermia sets in when the body temperature drops below 32C and continued exposure to low temperature can lead to major organ failure.
Mr Fisher, father of a 12-year-old boy, had been visiting friends in Ledbury on Tuesday, and went to the rail station at around 5.15pm.
Unbeknown to him, a teenager had been hit by a train in Droitwich earlier that day, disrupting services, and he was stuck at the station for hours as train after train was cancelled.
"All the shops were closing at that time so there was nowhere nearby to shelter," Mr Fisher said.
"I probably could have found a pub in the High Street, but it's quite a walk away and the information screen kept saying the next train was on time and I didn't want to miss it. By the time I knew I was really ill I couldn't have made it."
He rang London Midland and spoke to temp Jody Armstrong, who quickly realised something was seriously wrong as he had started to slur his words and had become delirious.
She convinced her supervisor that they needed to act fast, getting authorisation from the control room to book a taxi.She then stayed at work past her shift finished to make sure the taxi arrived.
Mr Fisher's GP later confirmed he had developed hypothermia.
London Midland's Rachel Webster said customer relations officers did their best to provide alternative transport when trains were cancelled.
"We do have an award system for people who have gone the extra mile, and Mr Fisher is welcome to e-mail us with a recommendation."
