Hero Milton Keynes musician rescues woman from suicide on New York's Hell Gate Bridge

A well-known Milton Keynes musician has been hailed a hero after rescuing an elderly woman from the waters below the notorious Hell Gate Bridge in New York.

The woman, who was believed to be suicidal, was spotted by Bletchley man Don McLean in the East River on Sunday morning.

Don, who is currently working in New York, jumped in to save her seconds before she reached the lethal cross current.

“Had it been several seconds later, she would have been in that spinning current… she would have been gone,” a witness told the New York press.

Don, who played in local bands such as Action Beat, Riotmen and Ikari, managed to drag the woman out to safety. But when he finally got her onto dry land, passers-by thought she was not breathing.

She was turned on her side and started coughing and breathing.

People posted on social media about the unnamed Good Samaritan and one of them put up a photo of Don.

His former band fans and members in Milton Keynes recognised him immediately.

A fellow band member said: “When he’s not molesting his guitar in Action Beat, he’s saving the lives of society’s most vulnerable. Well done Don.”