Girl, 9, jumps into freezing canal to save drowning boy on UK holiday

A nine-year-old school girl is being hailed a hero after diving into an icy canal to save a young boy from drowning.

Caoimhe Preshur, from Saddleworth, Oldham, was on a canal boating holiday in Sheffield with her family when she saw the 10-year-old boy fall into the ice-cold water.

The boy - known only as Thomas - was walking along the deck of a narrow boat when he slipped and fell into the canal.

Caoimhe, who attends Greenfield Primary School, heard the boy's screams and immediately dived into the cold murky water and swam across to help him.

She grabbed hold of the boy and held his head above the water until family members arrived to assist them.

Caoimhe told local paper Saddleworth News: "I heard a scream and ignored it at first as there were children playing nearby, but when I heard a second scream I realised somebody was in trouble.

"I ran over to the side of the boat and saw Thomas bobbing around in the water screaming he was going to die.

"I put my hand out but he wouldn't grab it - he was panicking too much - so I jumped in and just kept him afloat.

"I was really just concentrating on stopping him from drowning."

Caoimhe's mum, Abi Bown, told Saddleworth News: "I ran across after I heard screams and saw them both in the water but I couldn't get them out, I literally had to tow them to the front of the narrow boat which allowed us to pull them back up to the deck. We dried them both off and gave them a hot chocolate to drink."

Family and friends praised Caoimhe saying she was "very brave", and that they were all very proud of her.

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