Man overcomes fear of water to rescue schoolgirl from river
A MAN jumped into a freezing river to rescue a drowning schoolgirl despite having a fear of water.
Modest Adam Hall insists he isn’t a hero and says that he leapt into the Irwell without thinking after spotting the youngster struggling in the water.
Despite having a chest infection and struggling to breathe, he stripped off and jumped into the river to save the 13-year-old yesterday afternoon.
Adam, 21, had popped into The Old Pint Pot on Adelphi Street in Salford, just outside Manchester city centre, when he saw the girl in trouble.
“I was only walking to go to the toilet and I saw her in there,” he said.
“Her head was bobbing up and down. It was a little girl in a school uniform. She was really pale because of the cold water. I’ve had a bad chest for weeks and I’m scared of water, but I swam over to her.
“I managed to get her, but my head went underwater.”
Another man jumped in to help Adam, from Swinton, pull the girl to safety, but the current swept them downriver, eventually trapping them against a wall. Punters rushed from the pub to help the man rescue the girl.
Firefighters used a ladder and specialist water gear to rescue the man and the girl, who were taken to hospital to be checked over.
It is unclear how the girl ended up in the water.
“I just wanted to know she was okay,” Adam added.
“I’m not a hero.”