County Durham war hero tells of inferno rescue

Oct 16 2011 by Kim Carmichael, Sunday Sun

SAILOR Peter McCaffery risked his life to save a motorist from a horrific fireball death . . . before he had even made it home from a tour of duty in a warzone.

Courageous Peter McCaffery dragged dad-of-one Andrew Basham, 32, from the wreckage of a car seconds before it erupted into flames.

Mr McCaffery, 50, was travelling home from a four-month tour of duty with the Royal Auxiliary Fleet in war-torn Libya when he came across the crash.

Using his battlefield skills, he checked Mr Basham over to establish if he had any serious injuries before guiding him to safety.

He then gave the casualty his jacket before rushing back to help another driver also trapped in his car following the crash on the A68, near Darlington, on Wednesday evening.

But today dad-of-two Mr McCaffery told the Sunday Sun: “I didn’t think about the danger. I just did what I had to do to help another human being.”

Speaking from his home in West Auckland, County Durham, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary seaman, told of the moment he came across the scene of devastation as he drove home from Scotland.

Mr McCaffery, father to David, five, and Shannon, 11, said: “I’ve been out in Libya for four months supporting the Royal Navy. My ship had docked in Scotland earlier that day and I was driving to West Auckland to see the new house I’ve had built for the first time.

“When I saw the crash, my first thought was that we had to get them out and away from the vehicles. The danger came second.

“There was another man from a lorry helping too. The first guy was sitting when I got to the car. I checked him and he was able to walk.

“When we got him away, I went back to see the second man, who was in so much pain he couldn’t move. The paramedics arrived and I helped them run the stretcher down to where he was and get him out of there.”

Thanks to his rescuers’ quick thinking, crash survivor Andrew Basham escaped from his car seconds before it was engulfed in flames.

He spoke of his heartfelt gratitude for the “heroes” who saved his life.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Mr Basham, who suffered a fractured coccyx in the head-on collision, said he had not realised the extent of the fire until he saw the shocking photographs of the scene.

Mr Basham, who lives in Shildon, County Durham, said: “It was a bit of a shock,” he said. “I knew it had gone up, but I didn’t realise how bad it was.”