by Alan Watkins

awatkins@thekmgroup.co.uk

It was a race against time when the tide threatened to drown a teenager who plunged onto boulders on the banks of the River Medway.
The 14-year-old boy is recovering in hospital after the dramatic rescue from rocks in Halling on Saturday afternoon.
He had been cycling along the towpath at Ferry Road when he crashed over the flood bank and fell 15 ft.
The boy was unable to move, with water already splashing over his face, when a rescue team from Strood fire station joined police and ambulance teams shortly after 2pm.
It took just over an hour to rescue the teen, who suffered a suspected broken leg as well as head, neck and back injuries.
Strood fire station watch manager Ian Simpson said: “We knew that it was a rising tide and we had about half-an-hour.
“When we first arrived, his head was near the water but he was quickly becoming submerged so we had crews in life-jackets and specialist water rescue clothing supporting him while paramedics assessed his condition.
“We finally managed to get him out using a stretcher and a ladder and he was taken off to hospital with his mum who’d been waiting at the scene. It’s fair to say we were all quite relieved and there were smiles all round.”