Dad and son praised as 'super heroes' after saving drowning holidaymaker

Debbie Taylor said she “could not say thank you enough” after 11-year-old Swinton schoolboy Freddie Newton alerted his dad Matt to her plight – with his firefighter father performing CPR on her until an ambulance arrived.

Matt, who is based at Adwick Station in Doncaster, put his life-saving training into practice by also using a defibrillator to re-start Debbie's heart, until paramedics arrived at their hotel to take over.

Debbie (56) – who lives in Luton with husband Dave – said: “I was in the swimming pool and leaning on the edge of the pool and my husband was taking photos.

“Then it felt like a light switch went off in my head and I remember seeing the tiles in the pool (under water).

“I was drowning my husband and another man managed to get me out of the pool but I was like a dead weight.

“Freddie had seen me and told Matt: 'Dad, that lady's not moving.'

“Matt came over and took complete charge, doing CPR on me for about eight minutes until they got hold of the defibrillator.

“It was amazing – everything he did was spot on.

“Freddie helped save my life as his dad then got to me within seconds and if it hadn't been for him taking charge and saving my life I wouldn't be here.

“I was taken into hospital for a few days and Matt and his wife Katie looked after Dave and kept him busy outside of visiting hours.

“When I came back to the hotel it was so emotional and so nice, getting to meet Freddie and all his family.”

After returning to the UK, Debbie's GP sent her to hospital where scans and tests detected a clot on her lung and she is now on medication and going for regular blood tests.

“There is nothing I can ever do or say to thank both Freddie and Matt for saving me,” said Debbie.

“Freddie is my little super hero.”

Dad Matt (42) said: “We had only just arrived at the hotel when it happened – we'd dropped our suitcases in the room and headed to the pool and had been there about half an hour.

”Freddie and our other son George (14) went off to play when Freddie came back saying there was a lady in the pool not moving.

”There was a little island in the pool with palm trees on it where we were so we would never have seen it if it wasn't for Freddie noticing and grabbing me.

“We are so proud of him.”

Freddie will now have a special assembly at Brookfield Junior Academy arranged to recognise his “alertness and quick-thinking.”

Principal Daisy Dunning said: “Everyone at Brookfield Junior Academy is immensely proud of Freddie.

“We cover all elements of keeping ourselves and others safe in our PHSE (personal, social, health and economic) curriculum so it's fantastic to see Freddie putting his learning into action.

“This incident has reminded our whole school and further community of how important it is to look out for each other and the value of remaining alert at all times and speaking out.”

Gary Devonport, station manager at Adwick fire station said: “I would like to commend Matt and his son Freddie for their quick thinking and, ultimately, life-changing action they took to save this woman’s life.

“Matt is a credit to his watch, his station and South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue.”