John was seriously injured and it was by chance that he did not lose his badly fractured right leg. When the consultant met Rachael he said he thought he would "have that leg off by morning". By luck he had a young doctor working with him who said he had seen such injuries successfully treated when he was in New Zealand. The Consultant agreed to let him have a try and the leg was saved, although it healed 2 inches shorter.. This together with damage to the spine would cause arthritis in the back which would remain for the rest of his life.
He received the Queens Award for Bravery and an award from the Carnegie Hero Fund Trust. The children's school presented him with a chair to use during his convalescence. But his best reward was that the children were uninjured.
As a consequence of his injuries John was unfit for beat duty but for him the greater loss was he was no longer able to join in the rough and tumble with his kids.