Hero street wardens save stricken 89-year-old woman who had been stuck in her flat since 2am

Liz and her colleague Alan Kelly had been sent to check on a woman who lived in Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough, after being contacted by a GP who was concerned about a missed appointment. Upon arrival, the pair managed to get inside the building and continued to knock on the woman’s door, until they heard a faint shout: “Help, I can’t get off the bed.”

It transpired the woman had been stuck on her bed for around 12 hours before she was rescued.

Liz, a neighbourhood safety officer for Middlesbrough Council who has worked in a similar role for almost 20 years, said: “We found her lying across the bed. I just tried to reassure her, because she had pain in her back and said she’d been stuck there since 2am.

“That’s almost 12 hours by the time we’d got in. She said to me ‘I don’t know what I’d have done if you hadn’t shown up’. I dread to think what would have happened to her. She has family who don’t live locally, and her phone had fallen on the floor out of her reach so she couldn’t contact anybody.”

Liz, 63, spoke with carers and the emergency services on the day to ensure the woman was taken to hospital.

“We’d never leave anyone who is vulnerable, I was adamant we’d make sure she was all right,” she added. “I love my job and we deal with vulnerable people in need every day. Whether it’s someone with dementia, someone who has poor mental health, there are no two days the same.

“I just try to listen to people and make them feel positive. It was strange because we wouldn’t normally have a GP ringing our warden control number with a concern for welfare – but once we had that, we will always respond and do our best to help.”

Liz has since checked in with the woman, who had been suffering from an infection and temporary memory loss. The woman spent some time in hospital but is now home, with the appropriate support from carers.

Tony Grainge, Middlesbrough Council’s executive member for neighbourhood safety, said: “Our street warden service deal with all sorts of issues every day with professionalism and empathy. Our staff are often the first line of defence to support vulnerable people in the community, and I’d like to say a massive well done to Liz and Alan. They both truly embody the values of Middlesbrough Council.”