Wheelchair user plunges into Grand Union Canal

There were dramatic scenes in Leighton Buzzard yesterday when a woman in a wheelchair plunged into the Grand Union Canal.
Leighton BuzzardLeighton Buzzard
Leighton Buzzard

It is understood the woman was travelling in an electric wheelchair near Vimy Road when she plunged into the canal at around 2.30pm.

A member of the public rescued her before emergency services arrived.

A Beds Fire and Rescue spokesman said: “We were called around 2.30pm to assist the Ambulance Service to rescue a woman from the water at Vimy Road, Leighton Buzzard.

“When we arrived she was out of the water and being treated by paramedics so we assisted with the removal of the wheelchair from the canal using water rescue equipment.”

An East of England Ambulance spokesman said the woman had already been pulled from the canal by the time of their arrival. She was taken to Milton Keynes Hospital for treatment.