A mum whose quick-thinking saw her drag a young girl from a flooded burn believes she did what any other bystander would have done.
Danka Mutch pulled a fully submerged youngster from the Turriff burn, near the town’s boating pond in the den, when it was in flood.
And although she originally tried to remain anonymous, her actions were quick to pull in praise from fellow townsfolk and parents.
She has now branded the burn an accident waiting to happen and called for additional safety measures to protect others from coming to harm.
The mum-of-one said: “The girl was on her bike going and trying to go around but the path and burn were just as one, it was so flooded.
“Her wheel slipped on the mud and she fell into the water. The way the bike lodged meant it became stuck and luckily she was able to hold onto the frame, but she was totally submerged.
“The only thing I could see was her pink bicycle helmet.”
The 29-year-old was out walking with her seven-year-old daughter Lucy and friend Lynn Jex at the time.
She says the adrenaline rush and a past haunting experience gave her the strength to come to the rescue.
“When I was 10 I saw a man drown in a lake,” Mrs Mutch said. “For me it was a case of ‘once is enough in my lifetime’ so I was in the zone.
“I wouldn’t say I’m a strong person but if I can help I will and I think the adrenaline kicked in.
“I didn’t know if she could swim. The current could have been strong. Anything could have happened.
“The water was cold, she was gasping for breath and looked like she just wanted a cuddle afterwards.”
Originally from Poland, the support worker has lived in Scotland since she was 14, spending the last six years in Turriff with oil industry worker husband Craig.
“There’s not been anything done to that stretch of water in ages,” she said.
“It floods there every year in the same spot. It was an accident waiting to happen and something has to be done.”
Aberdeenshire Council said it plans to cordon off the flood-prone area of underpass nearby until repair works upstream, though to be contributing to increasing flooding of late, are carried out.
