Unconscious after jumping in river

IT WAS the very timely rescue by a passer-by that prevented yet another disaster in the Avon at Bath.

Once again, boys had ignored the warnings about swimming in the river, and had jumped into the river, with one catching his head knocking himself unconscious. The boys were in swimming trunks and had towels with them, Alan Tilbury reveals.

Dragged out

It was a cyclist who saw the struggle in the river, with one of the boys not moving, realising that he needed help, so jumped in and dragged the unconscious boy out of the river.

The boy was coming to, so put him in the recovery position and attempted to quieten the other boy who was panicking.

River rescue crew

Luckily a river rescue crew was training in the area and came past, immediately taking over, taking the boy by boat to connect with a waiting ambulance.

It was just 10 months ago that 14 years old Aaron Burgess drowned whilst swimming in the Avon. He got into difficulty and drowned while swimming with friends at Saltford Weir. (Boy drowns in Avon.)