Return after dramatic rescue (From Witney Gazette)

Return after dramatic rescue

3:01pm Monday 14th July 2008 in Witney By The Page Turner

BELL-RINGER Tony Merry - who broke a collar bone when he got caught in his own rope - is back in the bell tower for the sake of his health.

On May 14, the 58-year-old chemist was taking part in bell-ringing practice at St Mary's Church, Charlbury, when the freak accident occurred.

But now he has returned to his favourite hobby, following advice from his physiotherapist, who said the activity would help to improve muscle strength around the broken bone.

Dr Merry, 58, who lives in the village, suffered the injury after being pulled up off the belfry floor, and a dramatic rescue followed.

Firefighters placed him on a stretcher, and used a pulley system to lower him through a trap door in the belfry, to the church floor 15ft below.

Dr Merry, a chemistry research Fellow at Manchester University, who used to work for Oxford University, said: "I went to my first practice session on Wednesday last week since the accident, and it's great to be back.

"The broken bone has fused, and the physiotherapist said she thought bell-ringing would be good therapy for strengthening the muscle.

"Some of the bells are bigger than others, and you can choose which ones to pull, so as long as I stick to gentle stretching and don't pull too hard, I will be OK. What happened in May was a freak accident, and I will definitely be keeping my feet on the ground this time round."

Dr Merry, of Lees Heights, said he had missed the bell-ringing sessions, and visited the church to sit and watch his fellow bell-ringers.

He added: "I am now quite a celebrity in the village, and lots of people come up to me in our local pub, the Rose and Crown, to talk about it. The local fire crew, who rescued me, are often in there, so we have a laugh about it too.

"The rescue was very dramatic, but thanks to the emergency services, I was not seriously injured.

"Following the accident, there has been a review of safety procedures in all the local churches, to make sure that rescue crews have got proper access to the bell towers.

"In the past, people have had heart attacks, and the emergency services have been unable to use the trap doors because there are boxes piled on top."

Dr Merry was dragged from the floor after a big bunch of keys in his pocket got caught in the rope, and he was pulled about three feet off the ground. The shock made him lose consciousness, and he fell back down, injuring his shoulder.

But after paramedics gave him morphine to help ease the pain, he was awake to witness the precarious rescue.

Firefighters used the trap door for the rescue, because the spiral staircase leading to the belfry was too narrow to accommodate Dr Merry on a stretcher.

Afterwards, firefighter Bob Swanton said it was 'one of the best jobs I have been to in terms of the rescue going to plan'.