Arsenal Was Losing 3–0, So He Went Outside and Found a Woman Trapped in Mud

Alastair Cass was having a miserable afternoon watching football. His beloved Arsenal were losing 3–0 to Brighton, and he’d finally had enough.

The 40-year-old switched off the television and walked outside toward one of the barns on his property in Devon, England. As he crossed the yard, he heard a strange noise coming from somewhere across the valley.

At first, he didn’t think much of it. He lived in the countryside, where unusual noises were hardly surprising. But then he heard it again. Something sounded wrong, and he decided to find out what it was.

Someone Was Calling From the Valley

Alastair lived near the village of Chulmleigh, on a 150-acre property surrounded by fields, wooded slopes, and a river. He’d spent 28 years in the area and knew the land well.

He climbed onto his quad bike and headed downhill toward the noise. Every so often, he’d stop the engine and listen, trying to figure out exactly where it was coming from.

As he got closer to the river, the sounds became clearer. Someone was shouting, and this time he could make out a word.

Help. Alastair called back, asking whoever was out there to shout again. He followed the voice across the valley until he reached a ditch on a neighboring property.

There, he found a woman stuck in thick mud up to her chest. Her name was Sallie, and she was shivering badly. She couldn’t move enough to pull herself free.

It was around five in the afternoon. Sallie had been trapped since approximately one o’clock, spending four hours calling for someone who might hear her.

Alastair later told reporters he’d never seen anything like it in all his years living there. The ground was overgrown and difficult to navigate, and the mud looked dangerous enough to trap anyone who stepped into it.

The Mud Wouldn’t Let Her Go

Alastair knew he needed equipment before attempting to reach Sallie. He returned to his house, collected wooden boards and rope, and drove back down on the quad bike.

He laid the boards across the soft ground to spread his weight and give himself somewhere safer to stand. Then he secured Sallie with rope, hoping he could pull her free without getting stuck himself.

But the mud wouldn’t release her. The harder he pulled, the more it seemed to hold her in place, and Sallie began crying out in pain.

He stopped. Trying to force her out could hurt her, and the conditions were too dangerous for him to keep pulling.

There was another problem. He couldn’t get a mobile phone signal down in the ditch.

Alastair explained that he needed to get emergency services, then drove back toward the house to make the call. Once he’d reached someone, he returned to help the rescue teams find Sallie.

Firefighters Faced a Difficult Rescue

Firefighters from Chulmleigh were the first to arrive. Specialist rescue teams followed, along with police from South Molton, water-rescue personnel, ambulance crews, and helicopters.

Getting everyone to the ditch was a challenge of its own. Sallie was trapped in a low area beyond the roads, and the teams had to carry equipment across fields and down difficult ground.

Alastair knew the routes, so he became their guide. He made repeated trips back and forth, showing crews where to go and helping transport the equipment they needed.

Rescuers laid boards across the mud and worked together to reach Sallie without becoming trapped themselves. The operation continued for around two hours before they finally managed to free her.

She was taken to hospital, where doctors examined her after the long ordeal. Sallie remained there until approximately four the following morning before being allowed to go home.

He Almost Stayed to Watch the Football

When reporters later interviewed Alastair about the rescue, they asked what had made him go outside that afternoon.

His answer was simple. Arsenal had been playing so badly that he couldn’t bear to watch any longer. He explained that if the match had gone differently, he probably would have stayed in front of the television to watch the post-match interviews.

Instead, he’d stepped outside at just the right moment to hear Sallie’s cries. Had he remained indoors, he might never have known someone was trapped in the valley.

Sallie certainly appreciated the timing. After recovering, she decided to send him a handwritten thank-you card.

Her Thank-You Card Had One Final Surprise

Sallie’s letter thanked Alastair for listening when he first heard her shouting and taking the trouble to investigate. She thanked him for trying to pull her out and for all the journeys he’d made helping the emergency crews.

She told him she’d never been so happy to see another human being as she’d been when he appeared at the ditch. The letter also included a little joke about his smoking habit. Sallie thanked him for stepping outside for a cigarette, then suggested he could stop smoking now that he’d helped save her.

And tucked among all those words of gratitude was one more thank-you, addressed to the football team responsible for sending Alastair outdoors in the first place.

“Thanks to Arsenal for being rubbish at football!”