MODEST beat bobby Ben Braine has played down the part he played in saving the life of an elderly woman in a fast flowing river.

The Marlborough-based PC Braine plunged into the River Kennet at Chilton Foliat to rescue a drowning 78-year-old.

Police are still investigating how the elderly woman who was visiting relatives in Chilton Foliat, ended up in the River Kennet.

Details of the rescue on Sunday October 17 were not released by police until this week.

However, the identity of the Berkshire woman who has since made a full recovery, has not been revealed.

Police were called to the village at about 7.15pm when relatives reported the woman missing.

The Wiltshire police helicopter joined ground teams in searching the area, including woodland in the vicinity of the river.

At 8pm, PC Kevin Reed, the police observer on board, who was formerly stationed in Marlborough, located someone in the river using a heat-seeking device.

PC Braine, who used to be stationed at Pewsey, attempted to wade along the river to reach the woman, but decided it would be quicker to find a more direct route.

He found another route through a private garden and on his second attempt he reached the woman who was lying on a mud bank.

He said: "The helicopter had located a heat source and needed a ground unit to check it out. No one else was nearby so it was down to me.

"I saw the woman only about four to six feet from the bank with only her face and hands showing above the water.

"The visible parts were covered in mud. I assumed the river was shallow, the same as where I had waded previously, but I sank to my waist in mud."

He was unable to call colleagues for assistance because his radio had failed after being immersed in water so he had to struggle to get the unconscious woman to the bank where a resident helped him to get her out of the water.

He said: "He then got me out and we cared for her until she was airlifted to the Great Western Hospital on the helicopter. The hospital has since advised me that her temperature was very low."

PC Braine played down his part in the rescue and said: "I don't think I did anything special."

Insp Bill Dowling of Marlborough Police said: "It's unlikely the woman would have survived if she had stayed in the water much longer. By the time the River Kennet reaches Chilton Foliat it is a wide and fast flowing river and it takes a lot of courage to wade out into it in the dark. Ben Braine did not hesitate to go into the water and with the help of a villager he was able to get the woman out."

Insp Dowling said he was nominating the officer and the villager who helped him for commendations.