Men help save crash victim's life by using a belt, ropes and spanner to stop the bleeding

dailyrecord.co.uk TWO heroes used a belt, ropes and a spanner to save a pensioner from bleeding to death after she was hit by a lorry. Quick-thinking William Hughes and Ewen Todd used the tools when the 88-year-old was left with horrific leg injuries in the accident. The men have been praised by medics who said the woman, who was critically ill yesterday, would not have survived if they had not stepped in. William, 55, was working at his business, WH Tyres, in ­Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire, when the pensioner was knocked down by the lorry just yards away. He and his customer, stove shop owner Ewen, 45, realised they had to act fast when they saw the woman had lost a leg and badly injured the other. William described how he used a spanner to wrap the rope as tightly as he could around the wound. He said: “Unfortunately, the lorry drove over her legs. “She was bleeding badly and we knew we had to put something on her leg to stem the flow of blood so I used a rope and a spanner. “It was a terrible accident. I just did some basic first aid really. I don’t think we did anything special. It was what anybody would have done.” Ewen said: “My belt came off and we used it with the ropes. I’m first aid trained and with any incident when you’re faced with a loss of life you don’t think, you just do it. “She would have passed away if we hadn’t. “I would hope other people would do that for my mother.” The pair kept the woman as comfortable as they could until ­paramedics arrived and took the woman to Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert, where she was in a critical but stable condition last night. The road was closed for several hours after Thursday’s accident while police carried out an investigation into the circumstances. They are appealing for witnesses to come forward. to read more click here: dailyrecord.co.uk