Elderly man who got stuck in snow has life saved after being mistaken for a SEAL

Gerald Whitman, 73, was left lying down in bitterly cold snow after he had trouble with his arthritic knees while on his way to a dialysis appointment.

After being in the snow for an hour Mr Whitman gave up hope of being found - which was when he was rescued by ex-politician Charlie Parker.

Mr Parker, who had been shovelling snow from a driveway in Nova Scotia in Canada, said at first he thought Mr Whitman was a seal.

Speaking to CBC News, he said: "When the gusts disappeared I could see something there but I wasn't quite sure what it was.

"I was saying to myself - seal, person, seal, person? And it ended up being a man."

The incident happened as Mr Whitman was driving to Pictou Hospital on Monday and took a wrong turn and ended up on a closed road where his car got stuck.

Not wanting to become trapped in the vehicle he crawled out of the passenger side and started making his way to a house he could see in the distance.

However, the snow was deep and hard and as a result his arthritic knees gave way and he said he felt he was crawling on "crushed rocks".

Mr Whitman said: "When I was laying own the wind was blowing so hard it was almost rolling me over.

"It was like I was crawling across crushed rocks, and it did quite a job on my knees.

"I didn't realise at the time because they were pretty cold too. 

"And I made peace with the Lord, and I said 'if it be your will so be it' and I just stopped.

"And apparently it wasn't his will because shortly after that Charlie arrived".

Mr Parker, who said he found Mr Whitman shivering violently, helped him back to his home.

The elderly man was later taken to hospital and has since made a recovery.

Speaking about being mistaken for a seal, Mr Whitman said: "He thought I was a seal? And on behalf of all seals I'd like to thank him for his interest."