Hero teenage schoolboys save mum and five-month-old baby who fell into a canal
13 January 2020, 11:35
The young boys even performed CPR on the baby after saving her.
A group of Liverpool school boys have received commendations from the police after they saved a woman and her five-month-old baby from a canal.
The boys, aged between 11 and 14, were alerted to the emergency after hearing calls from the woman's four-year-old daughter Reya Wang at Spike Island in West Bank, Widnes.
Mum Lifei and five-month-old Eva had fallen in after being chased by swans, and Lifei told how she had struggled to get out of the canal because of its depth and her heavy coat.
Liefi told BBC Breakfast that she jumped in after the pram after it wheeled in the canal, but that she hadn't anticipated how difficult it would be to get out.
Luckily, Joe Draycott, Campbell Law, Ethan Melvin, Jacob Potter, Ellis Hulme and McAuley Maguire were all playing football nearby so came to the rescue and called 999.
Ethan, 14, heaved the baby out the water and performed CPR on her after noticing she was 'spluttering'.
The schoolboys have been presented with a bravery award from police for their heroic actions.
Little Reya presented the boys with the award, and she also received one herself for raising the alarm.
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Chief Inspector Catherine Pritchard of Cheshire Police told the Liverpool Echo: "I know the parents are very proud.
"Their night wouldn't be nothing if it wasn't for the boys' quick thinking.
"You were just fabulous on the night.
"And to even think about giving CPR is amazing.
"So thank you for making Widnes a safer place and I feel very proud to be working here knowing there are people like you."
Speaking about the incident, one of the boys - Joe - said: "We were all just playing football, the girl ran up crying and everything just clicked into place.
"It was like we knew exactly what to do.
"We all arranged everyone's role, it was that easy, it seemed we knew it."
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