Former Redbridge mayor gets stuck face down for five days behind football club after taking shortcut

  • Tap above to watch video report by Kaf Okpattah


A former east London mayor who took a short cut to a train station ended up getting trapped face down for five days behind a football club pavilion.

Chris Cummins, 75, said he was lucky to be alive following his nightmare ordeal at Redbridge FC's Oakside Stadium when he tried to slip through a fence.

Disaster struck when he tried to crawl beneath a pipe but ended up getting wedged on the floor without food and water.

No one heard his cries for help until the fifth day when club board members rode to the rescue after initially thinking someone was just messing about.

"I was trying to get to Barkingside station and I went round behind Redbridge Football Club and I got so far and I got to a point where I couldn’t go any further," Chris Cummins told ITV News London.

"At the back of the football club there is a pipe which goes along and it drops right at the end.

"And I could not get under there and a bit further on there was a piece of something sticking out and I couldn’t get through the gap. So I was stuck there for days," Chris explained.

Despite Chris's dire situation he said he felt fortunate because the weather stayed dry and he wasn't too cold.

He began praying and called out for help but struggled to attract any attention because people thought it was a joke.

He added: "Somebody thought it was a joke but then realised it was for real.

"They arranged for the ambulance and air ambulance to come to rescue me and cutaway the fencing which of it hadn’t been there I could have got out. They took me to hospital in Ilford and I was there for a while.

"After that I was moved to Whipps Cross and then Birchwood rest home and I came home here on Friday."

Chris Cummins pictured during his time as mayor

While in hospital Chris had several toes amputated for a condition not connected to his outdoor ordeal.

He was told he could have died if he'd have stayed pinned to the spot for another two days and all he could do was drink his own saliva.

"I had quite a bit of saliva in my mouth which was the equivalent of drinking water. I was just hoping someone would find me and I could get away from it," Chris explained.

"When someone came there was relief!" he added.

Mr Cummins, who is the former Mayor of Redbridge lost his phone the previous day after going to a memorial service so couldn't call for help.

Emergency services were called and carefully cut him free and gave him a much needed glass of water delivered through a straw.

Rescuer and football board member Joey May said he was at the club when he heard someone shout ‘help me!’.

"The train station is nearby I thought someone was messing about at first," Joey said.

"I had a look and couldn’t see anyone. So me and another board member shouted out ‘hello, is anyone there?’.

"I did it twice and heard no response and we went round into the clubhouse - and thought it was one of them messing about.

"They said it wasn’t them so we came back outside and didn’t hear it again.

"So we go on top of the roof and we saw him laying there — I had to look twice before we saw him — I was in shock!

"I didn’t understand what he was doing there. There was no reason for him to be there. So we jumped down and tried to pick him up but he was wedged in.

"So we went and got him some water and a straw and he kept saying thank you."


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