Prince in sea rescue drama

Mar 26 2003 By Owen Hughes, Bangor And Anglesey Mail

A POLICE dog and his handler helped save the life of a young man in a dramatic rescue from the sea at Bangor sea front.

PC Gordon Topps and his Alsatian Prince tracked the scent of the 18-year-old man to the water's edge after he ran into the sea at midnight.

Thanks to their help, the man was discovered clinging to a pillar at the end of Bangor Pier.

PC Topps said: "When the man was found he looked in a bad way, and was suffering fro m hypothermia. He was right at the end of the pier and it was high tide, he may not have lasted much longer in the water.

"If Prince had not tracked his scent to the water so quickly then he may not have made it. This young man may owe his life to Prince."

Police were sent to Bangor sea front at around midnight on March 8 following a 999 call from the young man.

The call was traced to a kiosk near Bangor Pier and two officers went to search the area. When they failed to find anyone, they called in PC Topps and Prince.

"They had no idea where the lad had gone but when Prince went to the kiosk he picked up a scent immediately," said PC Topps.

"He practically pulled me along. He went from the kiosk straight to the slipway by the pier and to the water's edge. There were no footprints but I trusted Prince's instinct and we called the coastguard and the helicopter."

When the officers searched the pier area, the young man was heard calling out from beneath the pier.

PC Topps said: "We heard faint calls and used a torch to find him. He was clinging to a column under the pier. The lifeboat then went alongside him and they pulled him out the water. He is lucky to be alive."

PC Topps, who has been in North W ales Police for five years, has worked with two-year-old Prince for the last 12 months, and keeps the dog at his family home on Anglesey.

He said: "He is a great dog. It is the first time he has saved anyone like this, he is quite a hero."