Lewis Bentley, aged 16, was getting off a bus opposite the Water Gardens by Bank Court in Hemel Hempstead last Friday (December 19) when he saw an elderly man who had fallen in to the river.

The teen, of Bridgewater Road in Berkhamsted, explained: "To be honest I just thought he was a drunk old man. I went over to him and I could see he was blind and struggling. The man said he had fallen through a gap in the railings."

Lewis pulled the man out of the water and called for an ambulance.
The youngster added: "I just wanted to do something for him because he looked distressed."

Lewis's mother, Sue Mayhew, said of her son: "All too often teenage boys have a lot of bad press and in this instance he was really kind and helpful - I'm very proud of him indeed."

A spokesman for the ambulance service, Gary Sanderson, said one crew from Hemel Hempstead attended the incident.

Paramedics were able to treat the elderly man at the scene and he was able to go home.

Are you or do you know the man who was rescued from the River Gade? Contact the newsdesk by either emailing editorial@hemelgazette.co.uk or by calling 01442 262311.

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