Father rescues drowning son from public baths while lifeguards stand by and watch

Gary Jowett and wife Rachel looked on in horror as their young son Daniel began to flounder in the deep end at Spenborough Baths near Dewsbury.

His instructor tried to reach the desperate youngster with a pole and a float, but did not enter the water himself, instead standing on the side and hitting an emergency drown button.

Lifeguards also stood motionless - prompting Gary, who could see his son was in serious danger, to take drastic action.

Without thinking of his own safety, Gary jumped fully-clothed, with his phone and wallet still in his pocket, eight feet into the deep end to save the drowning child.

The father-of-two swam to Daniel who was under the water, grabbed him and pushed him above his head before getting him to the side of the pool.

After being treated in hospital for shock, Daniel was sent home to recover.

Engineer Gary, 38, who will now never forget nearly losing his son, said: "He was on his weekly swimming lesson and the instructor asked the children to get into the pool and swim towards the shallow end.

"Daniel got a few feet away from the edge and then started to veer into the middle of the pool.

"The instructor shouted at him to swim to the side and he offered a pole as a guide to swim towards, but it was obvious he was struggling. He had nothing left in him.

"I just did what any dad would have done. Daniel keeps thanking me and hugging me and telling me I'm the best. He hasn't talked about it much, I think it really shook him up.

"I couldn't believe that I had to do what I did when there were qualified members of staff on duty. I'm glad they have suspended two people because it is wrong that these people who are supposed to save lives aren't reacting properly in emergencies."

Mum Rachel, a 37-year-old PA who lives with her husband and two children in Batley, West Yorks.,said: "Gary is a real superdad and I know he'd have done the same for any child in that position. He's our hero.

"I can't believe he did it, everything just happened so quickly. One minute he was sitting there and the next minute he was hurdling over the wall.

"I felt relieved when he was in the pool, but then I started to panic because no-one helped Gary while he was in there. I felt helpless.

Alasdair Brown, chief executive for Kirklees Active Leisure who run the baths, said: "I can confirm that two members of staff have been suspended following an incident at Spenborough Pool on June 4.

"We are in the process of carrying out an internal investigation to look into exactly what happened. We apologise wholeheartedly for any upset or distress that this incident has caused those who were involved."