A YORK police officer has used her experience of rescuing people from the River Ouse as the inspiration for this hard-hitting poem to back The Press’s Think, Don’t Swim campaign.

Zoe Billings, a traffic constable for York and Selby, told The Press the horrific scenes she witnessed during her time as a response officer prompted her to raise awareness of the dangers of jumping in, and she hopes the poem will make people think twice.

She said: “As a traffic constable, I deal with car crashes all the time, but pulling people out of the river is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. The look on their faces is just one of utter panic – they’re absolutely terrified.

“Physically, they’re extremely pale as the blood has rushed to their organs to keep them working in the freezing water,” she explained.

“Because of that, even strong swimmers are often very weak and can’t swim.”

The Think, Don’t Swim campaign was launched in the summer after three people drowned in the river.

Zoe’s poem, Carried Away, does not specifically relate to those deaths, but instead her own experiences as a policewoman.

She hopes her poetry can make more people aware in a unique and emotive way of the dangers she has seen at first-hand of people jumping into the Ouse.

“When you put something in rhyme it becomes deeper and affects people more.

“People will say ‘oh we know not to jump in the river’, but when you read it in a poem it is much more powerful, it hits a nerve and you take notice of it more.”

Her experiences have shown that many people who fall in the river have been drinking.

“When they’ve had a few to drink they put on a show for their friends. But this bravado disappears as soon as they hit the water,” she said.

Zoe’s poetry has been featured in a number of other hard-hitting campaigns, including the 95 Alive and North Yorkshire Police Drink Drive Campaign 2008.

Carried Away


I don’t know whose idea it was
We’d seen others do it before
The applauded centre of attention
As they paddled across to shore
It wasn’t really that wide
The river, cool and calm
I was a strong swimmer
I saw in it no harm
Just chilling on a summer’s night
After a long hot working day
Sat drinking with friends
I got carried away¦
The water, so cold
Like a vice tight grip
Sapped my strength, stole my breath
Ceased my relaxing summer dip
I flailed and I splashed
Kicked out as I swam
The hidden current, so strong
There my real struggle began
Pulled under the surface
To everyone’s dismay
Watched helplessly by friends
I got carried away¦
The divers found me
In my watery grave
Another foolish swimmer
That they couldn’t save
A small funeral service
For another young life lost
My family left to bear the pain
Their grief, the human cost
Mourners filed past my coffin
So respects they could pay
As on the shoulders of friends
I got carried away.