Unsung heroes who braved the snow and ice to help others in Dorset

As Storm Emma combined with the Beast From the East, hundreds of people also joined forces in a bid to keep the county's most vulnerable people safe and well.

Paul Hay from Fish ‘n’ Fritz had a busy few days despite the weather, and was able to provide food to people in need using the company's ‘Suspended Coffee’ advance purchase scheme.

Explaining 'Suspended Coffee', Mr Hay said: "The general public come in and give donations towards a coffee or a meal.

"The scheme is for all quarters of the community, we want to help as many people as possible in times of need. We've been running the scheme for about three of four years now and it's really taken off. 

"If people are falling on hard times they have somewhere where they can come for a few hours, warm up and have a drink and some food."

He added: "On Friday we opened briefly but we had a number of people come in for help.

"Ian Ferguson from Weyline Taxis brought a man in from The Bus Shelter at Lodmoor and that helped spread the word to the other people at the shelter that we were here."

Paul Hay with a homeless man called Shaun who came in to enjoy a hot meal

Rebecca Howard, who works at Dorset County Hospital (DCH) as a staff nurse in intensive care, was unable to travel from her home in Charlton Down for her 12-hour shift on Friday.

Rebecca was one of many in the same situation, but thankfully a gentleman from the area, Robert Rolls, came to everyone's rescue. 

Rebecca said: "He did it for no reason at all, just from the goodness of his heart. I know he took two IT nurses home from a 12-hour shift too."

Bexi Millar-Mcdermott thanked Mr Rolls for taking herself and her daughter to hospital when she broke her ankle. She added that he took an elderly man to hospital with a broken hip when an ambulance couldn’t get to him, as well as many more.

Maria Attwood praised 'hero' health workers who came to the aid of her mum during the severe weather. 

An ambulance was due to take her mum to DCH from Weymouth on the advice of her GP. Maria, who went to the hospital with her dad, said: "The ambulance came from Bridport - slipping and sliding down the driveway - and delivered mum safely to A&E where the already overstretched staff assessed her and managed to get her in a side ward quickly . 

"Many of the staff had been at the hospital since the snow started and didn't even know when cover might arrive."

She added that A-Line Taxis, despite the horrendous conditions, arrived to pick her dad up as arranged and take him home safely while her mum stayed in hospital. 

Emma Case, from Westham, praised her mum Sarah who is a carer in Weymouth. Despite it being her time off and having arthritis in her hips, Sarah walked as far as she could to get to people's houses to make sure they were warm and fed. 

Emma said: "She didn't want to let anyone down. She's my hero."

Helen Lorentzen from Chickerell thanked 'snow heroes' Rob Elliott from Dorset GLASS (Green Lane Association), who was out in his red Defender helping motorists, and an unknown farmer who helped clear the treacherous School Hill in Chickerell.

A special mention has also been made to Luke Bailey of Norfolk Road in Weymouth who offered to take some elderly people waiting in the lobby of Asda - who had been waiting for three hours - back home on Saturday.

And it's not just health and emergency workers who looked after people through the blizzard conditions.

A railway guard stranded with passengers on a train from Waterloo to Weymouth overnight has also been praised.
Passenger Michael Constantine was one of many forced to spend the night on the train throughout Thursday night into Friday morning.

Mr Constantine praised the guard on the South Western Railway service, saying: "He was getting a hard time from passengers to start, who were understandably upset, but he didn't shirk away from things.

"The problem was he was simply not getting any proper information, nor was there any real plan in place," he said.
Mr Constantine was stranded on the train for more than 16 hours.

"Yes, they did produce sandwiches and drinks, but none of the food was hot as reported afterwards," said Mr Constantine. "The poor old guard was fed with ridiculous information but he did his best - he was on his feet the whole time.

"When we finally got off the train I gave him a pat on the back and said 'well done'.

Picture: HELEN LORENTZEN

On Friday staff who lived close to Dorset County Hospital, who were not due to work, were being called on for help as many others were unable to travel to work because of the heavy snow and treacherous ice.

Pleas were made for 4x4 drivers to help NHS staff get to and from work. 

Susie Palmer, communications manager at Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We had an incredible response to the appeal. 

"The volunteers have done an amazing job getting our staff to and from the hospital, we couldn’t have done it without them and are so grateful for the support from the community to help us keep the hospital running. 

"Our staff have been absolutely brilliant, working extremely hard and going above and beyond to keep our patients and their colleagues safe in the severe weather, many working extra shifts and staying overnight. It’s been a tough few days but wonderful to see how everyone has pulled together.”

Picture: Dorset Police

Dorset Police has thanked the community for their support during the adverse weather.

The force has been working closely alongside partner agencies such as local councils, NHS, fire and rescue, as well as volunteers like Wessex 4x4 and the public, to try and keep Dorset moving over the last few days. 

Chief Superintendent Ben Hargreaves, of Dorset Police, said: "It has been a testing few days and I would like to thank the public for their patience and understanding. The conditions have been horrendous, particularly on Thursday afternoon through to Friday, but we have been working very closely with all our partner agencies to try and keep everyone as safe as possible.

"We would also like to thank the community for pulling together, helping one another and really showing a great spirit following such a difficult period. We know people have been volunteering their own time to check on the welfare of neighbours, help those stuck in their cars in the snow and using their own 4x4 vehicles to take essential staff such as police offices, doctors and nurses to and from work.

"I want to also thank our amazing officers and staff who have been going above and beyond their duty. Many of whom have walked to their local station through the snow and who have stayed on late and even overnight until colleagues have relieved them from duty."

As well as responding to emergencies, the neighbourhood policing teams have been out in communities speaking to people, offering advice and reassuring the public.