Women’s rugby team used boot laces as tourniquets to save four from car crash

A women’s rugby team has been praised after its members used “boot laces as tourniquets” to save four people from a car crash they witnessed.

The Women’s Trowbridge Rugby Team were completing their regular training in a field opposite when they heard the collision on Wednesday (8 August) evening.

Rushing to the scene to investigate, they found a vehicle turned on its side which had been carrying four people – two of which were just 16. Two had already managed to escape the scene, but the driver and front passenger were still trapped inside.

With varying injuries, some of which were life-threatening, the team organised en masse to help in a decision that “undoubtedly saved lives.”

Organising the fifteen to twenty-strong team, the players mobilised to “triage the casualties”, constructing a “makeshift tourniquet from their rugby boot laces and players’ shirts” to treat a “catastrophic” bleed one of the passengers had to the arm.

Elsewhere, the players supported the heads of two other casualties in case of spinal injuries, using foot mats, pieces of carpet and a duvet to support the passengers and keep them away from the cold ground.

When the emergency services arrived, they were directed to the scene by spotters placed on the main road by the group and assisted in treating the passengers, “holding IV lines, torches and continuing their reassurance to the casualties.”

“Without their assistance this could have very easily been fatal. It was a fantastic effort by this rugby team in assisting”, Trowbridge Police said.

“It was humbling seeing members of public coming together in order to help out fellow citizens.”

Meanwhile, Trowbridge Senior Ladies praised the group for their bravery, labelling them “heroes.”

“They climbed over a barbed wire fence and crawled through bushes of stinging nettles to provide lifesaving first aid to the people in the car”, a statement posted to the club’s Instagram page read.

“The team wishes all four people a speedy recovery!

“To the women involved = the bravery and teamwork you showed was amazing. Not all heroes wear capes. They also wear rugby shirts.”

England Rugby also praised the team for their efforts, labelling it “incredible.” “Everyone at England Rugby wishes those injured a speedy recovery”, their official account commented, with rugby teams from Bath, Avonmouth, Bournemouth and Cardiff joining in commendation.