Brave Dumbarton cop almost died rescuing stranded motorists during Storm Babet

A Dumbarton police officer almost died while rescuing 10 stranded drivers during a storm.

PC Sally Nicol also saved the lives of one of her colleagues and almost lost her own after being caught in a mudslide on a country road during Storm Babet.

The Daily Record reports Sally, 44, was airlifted to safety and continued her shift where she helped another 20 people stuck in their cars on another road get to safety when a river burst it banks.

READ MORE: Police shot Glasgow killer with taser as he threatened partner 'I am going to murder you'

READ MORE: New artisan bakery opening in Glasgow as west end street becomes posh cakes hotspot

She said: “It was only when I was in the helicopter and looking down on the landslides and mud that it dawned on me how bad it was and the imminent danger we’d been in.

"I thought I was a goner and I genuinely thought I was going to die.

“It’s when you get home and take your uniform off that you are sitting there thinking, ‘Wow – how did I survive that?’

“I ended up breaking down and crying my eyes out and going, ‘That was some shift’.”

Sally is one of 29 officers across Scotland who will be recognised this week for acts of bravery and service to the public at the Scottish Police Federation ceremony in Edinburgh.

Alongside her colleague Robert Mackie, she was sent to check the A83 Rest and be Thankful in Argyll for abandoned vehicles and stranded motorists while Babet raged.

Landslides has closed the road and traffic was rerouted onto the nearby Old Military Road but Sally and Robert discovered that route had also been hit by a massive landslide that had trapped a car.

The rescued a mum and her daughter from a silver hatchback before it was swept away.

However, a series of mudslides on the Old Military Road separated the two officers. They didn't know if there were more vehicles trapped behind various floods and mudslips.

Sally added: "“It was too dangerous to go back and I had to keep going forward.

“I got a tow rope, tied it to a barrier and tried to shimmy on to a path below so I could see better.

“I lost my footing and fell forward, flailing in the mud trying to get out.

“I was submerged in the mud and it was really difficult to get out. But survival mode kicked in and I managed to free myself, get to my feet and back up the embankment.”

Sally discovered another five trapped vehicles with eight passengers, including a lorry driver and a farmer. She lined the vehicles up next to each other, as far away from landslides and told the occupants to stay inside.

Sally said: “I thought, ‘We are stranded here and are all going to get submerged’. We could hear and see the various
landslides coming down the hills, which were literally moving.

“A landslide could have have happened there and then and wiped us all out. I was trying to remain upbeat while trying to arrange our evacuation and to stop people panicking and to keep calm.”

The officer managed to save Robert after spotting a landslide coming his way.

She added: " “I shouted for him to get out the way and then the whole lot came down. He managed to get himself and his car to safety just in time.”

A helicopter form Prestwick Coastguard eventually rescued Sally and the eight passengers and took them to nearby Inveraray Castle.

However, despite her near death experience, she went straight back on duty. Sally was then sent to the nearby A85, which had burst its banks and flooded. At the scene she rescued the occupants of 10 cars, and took them to the nearby village of Dalmally.

It was only once back at her home in Glasgow, that the full impact of what happened sunk in. Despite this, she was back on duty the next day at 7am once the storm passed.

Sally said: “Nothing could compare to the day before. Everything I have done before and since pales into insignificance.”

Sign up to our daily Glasgow Live newsletter here to receive news and features direct to your inbox

Her boss Sergeant Brian Simpson, who nominated her for an individual bravery award, praised her courage in the face of extreme danger.

He said: “Each time she heard that noise, she wondered if this would be the one that washed them all away. Without her calmness and professionalism, this incident could have turned out so much worse.”

Scottish Police Federation chair David Threadgold said: “The situations dealt with by police can sometimes be extremely dangerous, and none of us should ever take what they do for granted.

“Our annual awards are a moment to recognise those who go above and beyond to keep the public safe with dignity and resolve, before coming back to work to do it all again.”

Join Glasgow Live's WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.