Plymouth Herald editor Bill Martin and picture editor Pete Holdgate came to the rescue of a woman who smashed her face on a granite boulder and cracked a rib in a fall while tackling the Great South West Walk.

The news duo were on part of the 630-mile walk when 56-year-old Jo Owen, the event’s mascot, slipped on a rocky edge and fell 5ft off the path near Lamorna Cove, about 10 miles west of Penzance.

Bill said: “We came to a steep section near Penberth Cove and I was about 20 feet ahead when I heard a shrieking sound which I thought at first was a gull.

“I went back and found Jo had stepped off the path, fallen and smashed her face on a piece of granite. She was lying in brambles about three feet down, covered in blood and delirious.

“I had no mobile phone signal, we were miles from anywhere and I had to run very quickly up a steep section and call to Pete.”

The two fitness fanatics, who have completed many walking and running expeditions together, were able to help Jo to her feet and supported her along the coast path to a clear section and carried her over a fence.

The editor then ran to the nearest farmhouse near Lamorna, where he phoned for back-up, and Jo was taken to Penzance Hospital where she was treated.

Pete said: “Jo had a really nasty fall and she was really shaken up.

“She was covered in blood and had caught her head on a granite boulder and her ribs on another. She had cracked her head open and had a deep cut under her right eye.”

Jo joined the walk on day one in Plymouth and had completed 470 miles of the trek before her fall. She aimed to complete the entire course and after being treated in hospital she returned to the walk, which is due to be completed on Friday. Do you have a story about the regional press?
Ring 0116 227 3122/3121, or e-mail:
[email protected]