Man dices with death in Dudley reservoir dog rescue

One of his friends also swam out when he got into trouble because the water, at Netherton's Lodge Farm Reservoir in Dudley, was so cold.

But finally a member of the local yacht club saved the day when he drove a powered boat out to pluck him from the water with 'super human' strength.

The man, who is thought to have passed out for a time in water temperatures around 2C (35.6F), was eventually treated for the effects of cold by paramedics on the jetty of Dudley Sailing Club.

And the dog, believed to be a Staffordshire bull terrier, ended up swimming back to shore unharmed.

The whole drama was caught by keen wildlife photographer Chris Mason, who was out taking pictures of birds on the reservoir when he spotted a commotion on the opposite bank at about 4pm on Sunday.

Mr Mason, a 27-year-old machine setter, of Netherton, said: "The dog had gone into the water and was playing with, or attacking, an orange buoy and a group of people on the bank were trying to shout it back.

"Then this lad, who I reckon would be aged 18 to 22, waded into the reservoir and started to swim out.

"He got his dog to move away from the buoy.

"But then the lad got on top of the buoy and flagged to his friends that he was in trouble.

"He started to swim back but the cold got the better of him and someone later told me he'd passed out.

"One of his friends swam out and pulled him to the side and the dog swam to the shore."

Mr Mason ran to raise the alarm and Bryn Watkins, commodore of Dudley Sailing Club, drove out in a motor-driven boat to haul the man to safety.

Club secretary Trevor Rafe said: "A man with a camera came up to us shouting 'there's a man drowning'.

"We launched our boat and Bryn went and dragged him out of the water before bringing him back to our landing area.

"Bryn must have had super human strength to pull him out single handed – but we are well practised at pulling people out in the event of a capsize.

"Someone had called the ambulance and the paramedics got into the boat and treated the man, who was conscious but suffering from the effects of cold.

"We probably saved his life – in three or four minutes he could have been dead."

Mr Rafe estimated that, at the point where the dog was when the man swam out, the water would have been about 12 to 14ft deep but, when he was pulled on to the boat, he was in a shallow part measuring about 4ft.

Mr Mason said: "I've been a dog owner myself and do understand his dog was at risk – but he didn't need to go into the water. The dog would have come back when he got tired.

"If his friend hadn't gone in and helped him to the side and then he was pulled out by someone from the yacht club he would have died.

"Going in was the choice he made and I would think he's learned his lesson."

Are you the man who was rescued from Lodge Farm Reservoir – or do you know who he is? If you do, comment below or telephone Louise Jew on 01384 353201.