Pensioners forced to call police after becoming lost in woods

Teams of officers were deployed to Wood Lane in Church Warsop after 73-year-old James Bedder and his 71-year-old wife Rosemary were unable to find their way out after the light began to fade and the area became shrouded in fog.

The pair, who had travelled from their home on Alexander Street, Kirkby, had been in the woods last Wednesday afternoon when they had no option but to raise the alarm.

Mr Bedder said: “We went into the woods at around 3.30pm, and must have walked along the path for about half an hour, but then came off the path.

“We had to call the police because we really couldn’t find our way out, and it was starting to get really dark.

“We couldn’t hear any traffic so we must have been far from the road.

“It was getting really dark and very foggy - it got quite scary, so we had to ring the police.

“They kept asking if we could hear the sirens but we couldn’t hear anything!

“The people living nearby must have wondered what was going on, there were police everywhere!

“There was four cars and eight officers. At one point they were talking about getting the police helicopter out.

“It was a quagmire in there, I lost a shoe and I managed to break my walking stick, it was terrible!

“But we have to thank the police, they did a marvellous job, they cold not have been better.

“We were completely lost and they managed to find us after an hour and a half.

“Chestnutting is something we do most years, and we have been there before.”

Despite having to be rescued, was the trip worth it?

“I only got one chestnut,” said Mr Bedder, laughing.

“I think I’ll keep it to remind me about what happened!”

A spokesman for Nottinghamshire Police said: “Given their age, the worsening weather conditions and the failing light, officers attended and were successful in locating the couple.

“Officers were pleased to see that, despite their difficult afternoon, the couple were well and in good spirits.”