TWO police officers saved a pensioner’s life by plunging into the chilly Oxford Canal to rescue her.

A boater dialled 999 on Monday saying a ‘dead body’ was in the canal at Banbury, but could not give an exact location.

When the call went out, Pc Paul Froggatt sprinted from the town centre along the canal scouring the water, while Sgt Adrian Thomas ran along the bank from Waterworks Lane.

They spotted a woman, floating face up in the water near the far bank partially hidden by trees, in an area behind the Citroen Garage in Southam Road.

Sgt Thomas said: “We came across a person lying in the water who was not moving. We saw a small hand movement and called out to her.”

Meanwhile Pc Froggatt, who had run a mile-and-a-half from Castle Quay Shopping Centre, was already stripping off ready to jump into almost 6ft deep water.

He said: “The water was very cold and we were thigh high in silt.

“We managed to get her head on a (life saving) ring and got her back into a small area on the bank.

“We put her in the recovery position and someone on a passing boat gave us a blanket.

Sgt Thomas said: “She was very cold, very frightened and we got very little out of her.

“She managed to say she had tripped and fallen in. She was distressed and shock had set in.

“She was quite old and frail and I was not sure how well she was coping.”

The woman, 72, from Farthinghoe, near Banbury, was kept in hospital overnight for observation, but is recovering well.

Both officers are now likely to be recommended for a commendation, but the pair brushed it off as ‘all in a day’s work’.

Sgt Thomas said: “I don’t think what we did was particularly heroic. Any of our colleagues would have done the same.

“We just appreciated it was a very dangerous situation for her.

“We knew the longer she was left in the water the more risk and we needed to get her out. ”

Deputy area commander Insp Neville Clayton said: “They went above and beyond the call of duty.

“The canal is not a nice place to be. It’s dirty, muddy and there are hazards under water.

“They both jumped in and hauled her out with obviously no concern for their own health and safety.

“She would have died if they hadn’t jumped in there. she had been in there some time.