From the day someone becomes a parent on, it seems that they are constantly anxious about keeping their children safe and out of harm’s way. No parent wants to ever be in that position where at one point their child is there giggling and playing and the next they disappear.
Unfortunately, Becca Hampton of Knottingley, England, had to experience every parent’s worst nightmare.
Hampton, mom of two, knew her children were in the backyard playing, when at some point, 15-month old Reggie somehow made it out of a makeshift gate and onto the towpath. Before she knew it, the toddler was nowhere to be seen and moments later a neighbor broke the news to her.
“One of the neighbours said to me ‘your boy is in the canal’ and that was it*my heart ripped out,” she told the Daily Mail.
Indeed, as soon as Reggie left, he started walking toward the nearby canal and it wasn’t long before he found himself too close to falling into it.
At that moment, a young boy from the neighborhood happened to be walking his dogs there and, when he saw the toddler running towards the canal without someone accompanying him, he knew this was not a good sign and he had to do something before it was too late.
“Basically, I was walking the dogs on the other side of the canal and I could hear this little kid shouting us and waving,” said 15-year old Ryley Ferguson. “I realised how young he was and with him being on the other side I thought I need to go and get him or he’s going to go in. I could see him playing in the grass. A few seconds later, he did (go in) and I saw his legs sinking, I threw my coat off and jumped in after him.”
When the boy jumped into the water, the toddler was already on the bottom of the canal. Fortunately, with some quick moves, Ferguson managed to pull him on the surface of the water, but he wasn’t strong enough to get him out of the canal, so he started yelling for help.
According to Ferguson, he probably stayed in the canal with Reggie in his arms, trying to keep him out of the water, for about five minutes, until two men heard his cries for help and managed to get both of them out of the canal.
Ferguson and Reggie are healthy now and Ryley is sure he will never forget this experience.
“Since it’s happened I’ve been OK, it doesn’t feel real and I did what anyone else would do, it’s just lucky that I was there because 30 seconds later, he would have been dead,” Ferguson said.
The young boy has since been called a hero by the toddler’s mom and the local community, who are even trying to get him nominated for Pride of Britain Award.
Ferguson’s parents are also proud of their son and very happy he was able to help the little boy.
“It’s all overwhelming, obviously we are really proud of him,” they told the Daily Mail.
Reggie’s mom also posted a photo of the two boys together, thanking her son’s hero and assuring him his deed won’t be forgotten.
This heartwarming story reminds us that the younger generation is not as indifferent as some think and that these young kids are growing up to be responsible and empathetic citizens.
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