Window Cleaners Chat Saves His Life

Derek Roberts

Window cleaner's chance chat with customer led to life-saving procedure on 'inoperable' tumour: Derek Roberts was having a conversation while up the ladder at the home of James Arthur when the topic turned to a rare form of cancer Derek had A chance chat with a customer saved a window cleaner’s life.

Derek Roberts was up his ladder at the home of James Arthur when they got talking. The 54-year-old from Boothstown, Salford, had been told by several doctors that a very rare type of cancer growing in his abdomen was inoperable. But while cleaning windows at Mr Arthur’s home in Boothstown he told him of the tumour. Mr Arthur is a consultant surgeon at Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool, and suggested he get a second opinion there. Surgical teams at the hospital specialise in removal of tumours which are very complex to operate on, and they perform about ten operations a year.

Aintree University Hospital, Liverpool.

Derek went for a check up at Aintree and it resulted in a team led by consultant hepatobiliary surgeon, Mr Hassan Malik, successfully removing a 7kg gastrointetinal tumour, which was the size of a football. After a 10-hour operation, the team had successfully removed the tumour, along with parts of Derek’s liver, stomach and spleen.

Derek, who has been cleaning windows for more than 15 years, said: “I’d been told that nothing could be done, so who would have thought a chat while I was cleaning windows would lead to this? “I’ve been cleaning Mr Arthur’s windows for about six years but this was the first time I’ve shared any health concerns with him, and I’m so glad I did. “The whole team at Aintree was excellent and I can’t thank them enough – they have saved my life.”

Derek Roberts with James Arthur, Consultant surgeon (left) and Hassan Malik (right) consultant hepatobiliary surgeon, outside Aintree University Hospital.

Mr Arthur said: “I was around when Derek turned up to clean the windows and we had a bit of a chat, which turned to his health situation. I suggested a second opinion from my clinical colleagues. It’s a complicated condition to operate on but luckily Derek met the criteria.”

Since his operation just over 12 months ago, Derek has held a number of fundraising events, including some at his local pub, the Greyhound in Boothstown, and he recently handed over a cheque for £3,000 to the hospital’s hepatobiliary fund.

Derek Roberts (left) with James Arthur consultant surgeon (right) and Hassan Malik consultant hepatobiliary surgeon (centre).

Mr Malik said: “These are rare tumours, which are complex to manage and challenging to operate on, particularly when they are so advanced. We had to remove the tumour and parts of Derek’s stomach, liver and spleen, but the operation went smoothly.

“Even as one of the country’s leading centres, we still only carry out a very small number of these operations each year. Derek was certainly very fortunate and we wish him all the best with his continued recovery. We are extremely grateful for his fundraising work, which will support the treatment of patients in a similar condition on our wards.”

An x-ray showing Derek Roberts' seven kg tumour.

Reformed Window Cleaner Saves Life

Jeff Rochford from Stockton. Click to enlarge.

Reformed Stockton offender hailed a hero after saving woman's life while on window cleaning round: Jeff Rochford raised alarm when he thought 78-year-old June Hoyle looked unwell. His fears were confirmed as she was having a stroke.

A reformed prolific Teesside offender has been hailed a hero after he saved a woman’s life while on his window cleaning round. Jeff Rochford raised the alarm after he noticed 78-year-old June Hoyle was looking unwell. The dad-of-three called for an ambulance and his fears were confirmed when he was later told Mrs Hoyle was having a stroke. She was taken to hospital where she remains, receiving treatment. Her son Dennis said he is “entirely grateful” to Mr Rochford. He said: “He saved my mum’s life. I don’t care about his past. What he did was fantastic and the whole family is grateful.”

Mr Rochford, of Darlington Lane, Stockton, has 80 convictions on his record and received his first caution when he was eight for stealing a motorbike. Since then he was been convicted of a number of different offences including burglary and theft. But the 36-year-old has now turned his back on his criminal past and is training to become a mentor to help other offenders say goodbye to crime. He also now runs his own window cleaning business.

It was on Monday morning when he went to Mrs Hoyle’s’ home to clean her windows in Stockton and noticed she looked unwell. He said: “She wasn’t her usual lively self and then I saw that her face had dropped a bit. I was concerned so I called for an ambulance. “I waited until they arrived and then her son came round that night to tell me she had had a stroke and thanked me.”

Mr Hoyle said his mum is still being treated in hospital. He said: “Everyone knows that the longer you leave a stroke the worse it gets. “Jeff’s actions made sure mum got to hospital quickly. God knows how long it would have been if he had not been there.”

As well as window cleaning, Mr Rochford is also studying to become a peer mentor for offenders. He said: “I have already got my diploma in peer mentoring for level one and two. “I want to get into offender management and work with offenders to help them turn their lives around like I have. “I make no secret of my past. I was a prolific offender and have been in prison. “But it is my past now and I will never go back. “It was an awful life to lead. My life was chaotic and at times I felt there was no way out. I felt like I was stuck in a hole. “I am determined to help other people change too.”

Ex-con turned window cleaner saves elderly woman's life: A reformed burglar has been hailed a hero after saving the life of an elderly woman while on his window cleaning round. Jeff Rochford, 36, who has 80 convictions on a criminal record that began at the age of eight, spotted 78-year-old June Hoyle through the window as he set to work at her home.

Jeff noticed that she looked unwell and that her face had dropped slightly on one side and realised she was showing symptoms of a stroke so dialled 999 on his mobile phone. His quick-thinking saved Mrs Hoyle's life as it was later confirmed in hospital that his suspicions were correct and she had been having a stroke.

Jeff, who saved Mrs Hoyle at her Stockton-on-Tees home on Monday morning, said: "I'm really glad that she's doing well in hospital and getting the care she needs. "She wasn't her usual lively self and then I saw her face had dropped a bit I was concerned so I called for an ambulance. I waited until they arrived and then her son came round that night to tell me she had had a stroke and thank me."

He is determined to put his criminal past behind him and wants to help others. Mr Rochford said: "I don't make any secret about my past, I was a prolific offender and I have been in prison. But that's my past now and I will never go back to it. "It was an awful life to lead my life was totally chaotic and at times it seemed as though there was no way out of it for me. "Now I am determined to help other people change too and I want to become a mentor for offenders to help them out of that life."

Gardiners Waterfed Pole Saves Life

WATER RESCUE: Window cleaners Neil Caden and Ferdinand Henriques saved a man who was drowning in the lake at Roundhay Park with their Gardiner Water fed Pole. Click to enlarge.

Window cleaners use tools of trade to save man drowning in Leeds lake: A pair of heroic window cleaners used the tools of their trade to save a man drowning in a Leeds lake. Neil Caden, 46, and Ferdinand Henriques, 41, known as Junior, were cleaning the windows at Lakeside Cafe at Roundhay Park, early on Tuesday morning. (July 3) Neil, from Garforth, spotted two men on the waters edge at around 9am. One of the men jumped into the lake and swam to the other side before his companion followed and quickly got into difficulties.

Neil told the YEP: “He wasn’t a strong swimmer and I could tell he wasn’t going to make it. After a while he started slipping under the water and I could tell he was really struggling.” Both window cleaners jumped over a fence and rushed to the edge of the lake. They used a 35ft telescopic cleaning rod to try and reach the man while his friend remained in the water at the other side. Neil said: “By this time his face was in the water and he wasn’t strong enough to grab the pole so we knew one of us would have to jump in.”

Without even pausing to take off his shoes or empty his pockets, Junior, from Belle Isle, dived into the cold water and grabbed the drowning man.  Neil then held the pole and guided both men to the side of the lake, tending to them while a passer-by contacted the emergency services.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said the 49-year-old man’s injuries were not life threatening. Neil added: “We don’t think we’ve been heroes – at the end of the day, you should do it for anyone and at the time you don’t give it a second thought. I’m just glad he’s OK.” Dedicated Neil and Junior both returned to the cafe first thing yesterday morning to finish cleaning the windows.