'Don't call us heroes': Shrewsbury river rescue pair relive drama
Two men who jumped into the River Severn in Shrewsbury to rescue a man say they were just "doing what you have to do".
Adam Buffery, 21, who works at The Foundry Restaurant, and Barry Tench, 56, front of house manager at Theatre Severn, leapt into action after shocked diners on the balcony spotted a man face down in the river.
The, man who police said was in his 60s, had fallen from the Welsh Bridge at around 12.50pm on Wednesday.
Adam said there was no time to think and the pair had just "gone for it".
He said: "I was working up here in the cafe and two guys eating out on the balcony ran inside and shouted to us that a guy had just fallen off the bridge and was face down in the water. I bolted downstairs and as I did I shouted for Barry. We bolted down to the railings and pretty much decided there and then to go for it."
After jumping over the railings the pair had to navigate the mud under the bridge.
Barry said: "It was really deep, I was in it first and got completely stuck. Adam went past me at some point and we both got to the bank at the same time and I remember saying to him 'Are you a good swimmer?'.
"I jumped in and Adam dived in and swam out to get the guy."
Adam said he feared the worst when he reached the man, who started to breathe again when they got him to the river bank.
He said: "He was totally unconscious when I got to him and he had been there for about five minutes. I turned him over and it looked bad. I swam back and tried to get him out but it is a steep bank and he was really heavy."
Barry said: "We lifted him up by his belt buckle and it seemed to jerk him and he started to try to breathe. When we got him onto the bank he was turned on his side and the water started to come out and he took a couple of gasps."
Paramedics and the fire service arrived to treat the man on the bank before he was taken to Royal Shrewsbury Hospitalwith hypothermia.
Both men were dismissive of any description of their actions as heroic.
Adam said: "We were just doing what you have to do."
Barry added: "I struggle when people use the word hero, I shrink away from that, it just felt like the thing to do."
