Man hailed as hero after rescuing baby boy who was blown into marina by strong winds

A heroic dock master has spoken of how he dived into freezing cold waters in Somerset to rescue a six-month-old baby boy after his buggy was blown in by strong winds.

The infant, who was strapped in the buggy, was swept into the the water as his mother walked along Watchet Harbour at 8am on Sunday.

After hearing screams for help George Reeder, 63, initially thought a dog had fallen in but was horrified to see the pushchair upturned in the water.

He dived in and pulled the pushchair to the wall, before a member of the public helped attach a rope and haul it to dry land - but not before the baby had spent around five minutes in the water.

The baby, named in reports as Sam, was revived by a passer-by who administered CPR, before being taken to hospital, where he is now thought to be out of intensive care.

Mr Reeder, who has worked at the marina for 11 years, said he heard screaming from a couple of hundred yards away before jumping on his bike to see what had happened.

He said: "I don't know exactly how he went in, but I was on the esplanade and heard the commotion and I assumed somebody's dog had gone into the water, so I went cycling over.

"They were on the West Pier, where you walk up to the lighthouse, some way away, but the noise travels and I could hear screaming from a woman.

"The mother was there and she said 'my baby has gone in the water', so I went to the edge and I could see the pushchair upside down, floating away.

"I just jumped in and pulled the pushchair back over to the edge of the quay, and then somebody put a rope down over and I tied it on and they lifted it out. As far as I know, what the police told me was that the wind blew the buggy in."

PA