2026 Winner
MITCHELL ROWAN
Printer was on a pub crawl when he jumped onto railway tracks to pull a man to safety, seconds before the train arrived
Mitchell, 21, was with pals John Devine, 21, Luke Robertson, 22, Sam Riley, 21, and Nairn Sandlan, 19, taking part in Glasgow’s “Sub Crawl” last July.
The popular pub crawl sees participants buy an all day ticket for the city’s underground loop, stopping for a drink at each of the 15 stations.
The group were only three stops in, and waiting for a train at Kelvinhall Station, when the incident unfolded around 8.30pm.
Mitchell said: “We spotted the guy who was staggering about a bit. I went down to tie my lace, and the guy just suddenly fell on the tracks. He had banged his head off the track, there was blood and he was lying on his back unconscious.
“I could see the lights and hear the train approaching. I decided to jump on the track and lift the guy off.”
Mitchell, a Celtic fan, said adrenaline helped him lift the man, in his forties and about 5ft 8ins tall, up the 4ft high platform.
He added: “When you see someone in danger like that you don’t stand about weighing it up, you just go. The other boys were right there behind me, hauling us back up onto the platform.
“The train arrived about 20 seconds later. It was a split second decision and all we could think of was saving him and getting him out of danger. I don’t think I could have faced the thought of not doing anything to help. If the train hit him, it would have been horrendous for everyone involved.”
Some of the lads went to get station staff while one of two other passengers on the platform, who had paramedic training, tended to the injured man.
The five friends, who all live on Glasgow’s south side, then continued their pub crawl on foot as the subway was suspended.
Apprentice Nairn said: “Everything kicked in really quickly. Mitchell was straight down on the tracks and the rest of us just reacted. Once we knew the man was OK, we headed off to the next pub to carry on with the night.”