A COLLEGE lecturer from Burnley who saved a woman from drowning in a fast-flowing Carlisle river is to receive a top life-saving award.

Non-swimmer Stephen Train, 39, who lives and works in Carlisle, has been awarded a Royal Humane Society testimonial for his part in the February river rescue.

The woman was spotted in the River Eden by two pedestrians who raised the alarm, and Mr Train ran down to the bank.

He went into the water fully-clothed and waded out until he was chest deep to reach the 70-year-old woman.

He then dragged her to the safety of the bank where another rescuer helped him pull her from the water.

The citation says that as a non-swimmer Mr Train "put himself at risk in perilous circumstances" by wading out into the river with a very strong current after several days of heavy rain.

The former Nelson and Colne College student said: "I didn't really have time to think about it.

"I didn't know how deep it was. There was no time to hesitate. I just went in."

Mr Train worked at the Department of Employment in Burnley for six years, and was a part-time lecturer at Blackburn, and Nelson and Colne Colleges.

He now lectures in business studies at Carlisle College, and lives in the city with his wife, Susan, and their three-year-old son, Euan.

His parents, Duncan and Audrey, live in Burnley.

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