St Leonards colleague Sarah helps to rescue baby dolphin trapped by rocks

Well done to Sarah Gale from our St Leonards-on-Sea store who along with her friends Carrie Warrior and Amy Walker rescued a baby dolphin which was trapped between rocks in shallow water in the English Channel.

Sarah, who works in our George department, was walking with Carrie and Amy at Rock-a-Nore beach in Hastings when they noticed a large number of birds circulating in the air above the rocks. As they looked down they saw a fin poking through the water – something had got stuck between the big rocks and was flapping away to try and free itself.

They decided to investigate and as they got closer they thought it was a shark – but this didn't stop Carrie and Amy jumping into the water and trying to free what turned out to be a baby dolphin.

They agreed that Sarah, who's 62, should stay close at hand on the beach to await emergency services in case they were needed. She took photos of the dramatic rescue.

After about 20 minutes of wrestling with the current and trying to coax and manoeuvre the distressed mammal it finally swam free of the rocks and into the open water where it headed off along the English Channel in the direction of Bexhill.

Grandmother-of-two Sarah who, along with Carrie and Amy is a member of Hastings Rounders Club, said: "It was waist deep and very slippy underfoot. While Amy and Carrie got into the water we decided I'd stay on dry land in case help was needed.

"They both went for the tail end as we weren't sure how safe it would be to hold the creature by its mouth as it was very distressed. All animals that are distressed can be very unpredictable.

"It was facing towards the rocks and they had to keep pulling it back to get it facing towards the sea again which they thankfully managed to do. It was such a beautiful creature.

"We all played our part as I always consider myself as a team player, inside and outside of work."

Wendy Border, our St Leonards-on-Sea store's community champion, said: "Sarah is such a lovely colleague with a big heart and tries to help anyone she can. With working for more than 10 years with Asda she's made lots of friends and has a great rapport with customers."

Tracy Martin, Sarah's manager, said: "We are all incredibly proud of her. She has such a kind nature and will help anyone out."