After booking into the Tea Gardens Hotel on Wednesday the 84-year-old decided to take himself up to the co-op on his three wheeler scooter for a “feed of prawns”.

“I went over to the co-op I haven’t had prawns for three years so I thought I’ll go over and get myself a kilo of them.”

On his way back the Mt Isa holidaymaker took his scooter along the retaining wall to get a closer glimpse of the river when Kelly Pietsch spotted him.

“I was just walking my dog in the afternoon on the other side of the ferry and I saw John coming down along the walkway and I just thought to myself “You’re a bit close to the edge there”,” she said.

“Then I saw him veer onto a dip, his wheels diverted down onto an angle and it was all over in a second there wasn’t even enough time for him to call out for help.”

Without a second thought Kelly sprinted along the riverbank jumping in after John at the same time yelling out for more assistance.

Hearing Kelly’s cries for help, bar attendant Amanda Simmonds, made a dash for the river thinking a child had fallen in. As both Kelly and Amanda tried to keep John afloat they managed to help him across to the stern of a nearby boat where a group of men including pub licensee Brendan Cusack was waiting to lift him out.

“I had to tell him twice to let go of the bike. He wouldn’t have lasted long in the current it was running very fast and it was so cold,” Amanda said.

After 10 minutes John was back on dry land and Kelly and Amanda were inspecting the damage from a few nasty oyster cuts.

“I’m damn lucky, if it wasn’t for these girls I wouldn’t be so lucky. Without them the good lord would have had me quick smart,” John said.

They didn’t know me from a bar of soap but they did the right thing by me,” John said.

Asked whether they’d do it all again Kelly and Amanda said they wouldn’t have a second thought.

“Of course” said Kelly. “Anybody would.”

Sitting in front of a toasty fire last week John said he plans to make his return to Tea Gardens in the near future to visit his group of newly found friends.

“Of course I’ll return, I will be coming back the sheer generosity of the people in the town and the pub has just amazed me.”