Runner enters drain to help stranger retrieve keys

A jogger lowered herself down into a street drain to help a stranger rescue her house and car keys.

Lizzy Holywell halted her run when she spotted the distressed woman, who was in her late 60s, by the roadside in Dronfield, Derbyshire, on Tuesday.

The mother of three tried to grab the keys with her bare toes before a passing tradesman used magnetic rods to successfully return the keys to the "overjoyed" woman.

"She mentioned her husband had died recently, she was living alone," Holywell said. "There was no-one with a spare key - she was having a hard time and I thought I can't leave her there, so I just tried my best."

The 35-year-old told the BBC she had been running past Dronfield railway station on Tuesday morning in preparation for the Sheffield Half Marathon, when she saw the woman stood beside an open drain.

The "upset and distressed" woman explained she had gone to put her keys in her handbag, missed and they had slipped down the grate on her way to her hair appointment.

Another runner had stopped to assist her when Holywell joined the rescue mission.

The three of them tried magnets, string and sticks but were unsuccessful.

"We just couldn't seem to fish anything out, so I just thought I'll get in and give it a go," she said.

"It was probably about waist deep. I was just feeling around with my toes."

Holywell fished out a pen, bits of metal, rocks and leaves from the "big mush" but could not locate the keys.

"It's quite embarrassing now I actually talk about it," she laughed.

A group of council bin collectors then stopped to assist, lending Holywell a jumper to wipe her feet after the failed attempt.

A short time later, local electrician Matthew Smith pulled up in his van and used his magnetic rods to rescue the keys.

"She was overjoyed. She was so happy," said Holywell. "She gave the electrician a big hug and she tried to give me a hug but I said 'don't' because I was covered in all sorts from the drain."

Severn Trent Water advises on its website that members of the public should not attempt to access drainage systems.

It said even though some manholes could be large enough for people to climb into, people should only enter them if they were trained to enter confined spaces and had been authorised to do so.

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