A freak accident left Jonno Stubbs, 61, trapped in a well at his property in Cheadle, Staffordshire, in February 2026.
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accident → leave → February
The fall left him with a broken back and foot, and he spent three weeks in hospital.
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he → leave → hospital
During the rescue, firefighter Jack Gaskell, of Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service’s specialist Technical Rescue Unit, was lowered into the well to reach him and bring him to safety.
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Gaskell → lower → safety
Months later, Stubbs set out to find the firefighter who had helped save his life.
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who → set → life
On Monday, 14 September, the two met again at Knutsford Fire Station.
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two → meet → Station
How a 30-foot fall into a freezing well left Jonno Stubbs with a broken back and foot
Stubbs was building a workshop for his motorcycles on February 1, 2026, when the accident happened.
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accident → leave → February
He told the BBC he had simply walked across his yard when the paved ground gave way and he dropped into an 18th-century well.
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he → tell → well
“There was a big splash,” he said.
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he → be → ?
He puts the fall at 50 feet, though Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service described it as 30 feet on the day.
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Service → put → day
Emergency services were called at about 8:40am.
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services → call → 8:40am
Three Staffordshire crews attended, along with a technical rescue unit from neighbouring Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service.
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crews → attend → Service
Early statements from the ambulance service described only minor injuries, but Stubbs had broken his back and foot and was treated for hypothermia.
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Stubbs → describe → hypothermia
He feared he would not survive.
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he → fear → ?
How firefighter Jack Gaskell helped rescue him
The depth and confined space of the well meant specialist rescuers were needed.
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rescuers → help → well
Gaskell, called in to assist Staffordshire’s crews, first lowered a life jacket and a two-way radio to Stubbs.
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Gaskell → call → Stubbs
Stubbs recalls telling him over the radio that he was fading and had to be got out.
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he → tell → radio
The next thing he remembers is Gaskell beside him saying they were getting him out.
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they → remember → him
Gaskell had been lowered on a rope attached to a triangular metal frame.
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Gaskell → lower → frame
Once beside Stubbs, he reassured him and fitted him with a rescue harness so he could be winched to the surface.
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he → reassure → surface
Stubbs was brought out at about 10:35am, almost two hours after the alarm was raised, and assessed by ambulance crews at the scene.
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alarm → bring → scene
Three weeks in hospital and a difficult recovery
Stubbs spent three weeks in hospital.
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Stubbs → spend → hospital
He described the recovery to the BBC as “awful,” affecting him mentally as well as physically, and he faces a long road back.
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he → describe → road
Stubbs spent months trying to find Gaskell so he could thank him in person.
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he → spend → person
He arranged the meeting at Knutsford Fire Station, where, alongside Becci Fisher, he also met the wider crew.
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he → arrange → crew
“If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be sitting here today,” he said.
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he → sit → them
He described the reunion as giving him “a little bit of closure.”
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He → describe → closure
Gaskell said that in 22 years in the fire service, no one he had rescued had ever reached out to find him.
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he → say → him
Being contacted, he said, meant a great deal.
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he → contact → deal
“We do this job to help people,” he added, but you rarely get the chance to see someone afterwards.
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you → do → someone
A rescue that led to an unexpected friendship
In February, Gaskell had been lowered into a well to reach a seriously injured man.
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Gaskell → lead → man
In September, he met that man again outside an emergency and saw how far he had come.
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he → meet → emergency
For Stubbs, finding his rescuer was a way to thank the people who had got him through one of the most frightening experiences of his life.
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who → find → life
The Aporia
