Hero '˜pulls man from tracks' at Rotherham station, then says '˜anyone would have done the same'

Andrew Waddingham leapt to the rescue after a man collapsed at the station yesterday evening at around 5.40pm.

The 53-year-old described how he risked his own life to lift the man to safety despite hearing tannoy announcements warning passengers to stand clear as a non-stopping train was approaching.

He recalled how he had just got off a tram-train from Sheffield, where he and his partner Lisa Casswell had been shopping, and was leaving the station when he heard a '˜loud thud' behind him on platform one.

'We turned round and we saw a man laid on the tracks, with one foot over one of the rails and his head across the other,' he said.

'His friend was leaning over the platform shouting to him but he wasn't moving so I decided I had to do something.

'I jumped onto the tracks and as I did so I heard an announcement saying there was a train approaching and people should stand well clear as it wasn't stopping.

'My missus was shouting at me to get off the tracks but I told her to keep a look out while I tried to get the guy up.

'It was harder than I thought it would be to lift him but eventually I managed to get him up onto the platform.'

Mr Waddingham said the man had a big gash on the back of his head but was breathing.

Using the first aid he had learned during his time working down the pits in the 80s and 90s, he then put him in the recovery position while he waited for an ambulance to arrive.

'I stayed with him until the paramedics got there. I just hope the guy's OK,' said the father-of-two, who lives in Rotherham and is a driver at a steelworks.

'I'd definitely do it again, and I think anyone would have done the same if they'd been in my position.'

Despite his modesty, his partner Lisa described him as '˜my hero' in a Facebook post praising his actions.

'I am so so proud of you for saving that man's life without even thinking of your own,' she wrote.

'And I'm sorry for screaming at you to please get off the track.'

Network Rail confirmed that a member of the public had slipped on the platform but said the person was not seriously injured.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service said it was called at 5.42pm and a patient had been taken to hospital.