Pint-sized rescuer saves life of 6ft 7in pal

The 15-year-old saved the life of his friend Adam Greening, 16, by keeping the 24-stone, 6ft 7in teenager afloat after he had got into difficulty in a canal in Yorkshire.

Fire chiefs confirmed last night that Adam was lucky to be alive following the incident.

Sam, who weighs a mere eight-and-a-half stones, thought nothing of his own safety as he leapt into the water to save his friend.

The schoolboy was able to keep Adam’s face above the surface of the water until members of the emergency services arrived to get them out at the canal in Eastmoor, Wakefield.

He said: “I kept trying to get him out of the water but I couldn’t physically do it.

“So I kept talking to him until the fire brigade came.”

Adam, of Saville Street, College Grove, Wakefield, yesterday told how he feared for his life.

He said: “I thought I was going to die, it was awful.

“It was the first time I had swum in a canal and I won’t be doing it again.”

His mother, Faith Greening, 58, said: “We were told if they hadn’t got him out when they did, he would have died.

“If he had been in there any longer he would have drowned.

“We’re so grateful to everyone who helped him.”

Fire crews from Wakefield, Brighouse, Leeds and Ossett were called to the canal in Wakefield on Thursday night at 8.30pm.

The accident happened at the canal near to Broad Reach Bridge, on Park Lodge Lane in Eastmoor.

Wakefield crew commander David Hollingsworth confirmed that Adam could have drowned and warned people of the dangers of jumping into a canal.

Mr Hollingsworth added: “This boy was very lucky to be alive. Young people need to realise how dangerous it is to jump into canals.”