A Perth man has been hailed a hero after saving a young boy who was almost dragged underwater in the River Tay.
The rescue happened on Thursday near Moncrieffe Island, when a 12-year-old and his friend were swimming in the river.
Personal trainer Adam Davison was passing by with a friend and his friend’s son when he heard the boy in distress at around 6.50pm.
Adam, 30, who lives in Perth, and runs Pledge Fitness, said: “The boy swam down to the railway bridge and got caught up in the rapids.
“He was shouting out to his friend that he couldn’t get out and that he was going to die.
He shouted ‘I’m going to die’
“My friend said to me, ‘You’re going to have to go and help him Adam’, because I’ve got an NPLQ (National Pool Lifeguard Qualification) – but nowhere to that extent.
“There must have been about 60 or 70 people there, but no one was going for it at the time so I just decided I had to go in.”
Adam waded in around 10 metres with his shoes on, then swam around another 100m to reach the boy.
“I got to the boy and he was ducking under and going under the water at this point, near the bridge,” said Adam.
“He was panicking and screaming, saying he was going to die.
“By the time I got to him, I was absolutely knackered.
‘I thought I was going to die myself’
“I thought I was going to die myself, it was a scary ordeal.
“As much as I’m a strong, fit lad, and I can swim and have a bit of training, it’s nothing to the extent of dealing with those sort of currents.
“Under that bridge is so deep, and through panic, the lad was trying to drag me under, but I managed to get him to calm down and quickly flip him on to his back.
“Then I fought with the current to go under the bridge and down from it.
“The current is so strong though, it actually drags you down the middle of the Tay, so as much as I was trying to kick and pull him to the left, the current was just wanting to drag me down, so we must’ve gone about 200m downstream before I could pull him into the side.
“By that point he was in a state of shock and crying, thinking he was going to die. I was able to reassure him and he was very thankful.”
‘Bravery’
Will Robertson, 44, who owns the Sweeney Todd Barber Shop in South Street in Perth witnessed the ordeal.
He has offered Adam a free haircut as a thank you for his bravery.
He said: “The boy was bobbing in and out of the water, and shouted over to me, he said, ‘help, help I’m drowning’.
“He was really panicking so I went and got the buoyancy aid. At the time there wasn’t one on the second bridge, I had to go up to the other bridge.
“By the time I got back with the buoyancy aid, the young lad had been swept away underneath the bridge. The young boy was right in the middle of the water at the time. I felt so helpless.
“I got back and the boy had been swept away and Adam had jumped in. He disappeared under the water, then I saw the young boy coming up first, and Adam came up underneath him.
‘It seemed like an eternity’
“Then, the next thing the two of them got swept away. I saw him go under again to try and get to him, and brought him up, and they went under again.
“Then on the third attempt he grabbed the boy’s hand, and I think he managed to get on his back and managed to swim with the young lad.
“He pulled him to the other side of the bridge, towards the Moncrieff Island side – I was at the other side of the bridge.
“It took about a minute but it seemed like an eternity. The boy was okay. Adam spent about 20 minutes with the lad and he was fine.”
No emergency services attended, but Will said after around 10 minutes the youngster appeared to be in good health and left with his friend.
‘I’m still in shock I managed to pull it off’
Adam said: “At one point I thought ‘This is a 50/50 chance we’ll survive’.
“Thankfully he’s alive and so am I.
“It was absolutely terrifying, I think I’m still in shock that I managed to pull it off.”
Round of applause from onlookers
Adam said two community wardens came to the aid of the children once he managed to get the youngster to shore.
“I was a little bit flabbergasted by it all,” he said.
“I got a round of applause from about 60 or 70 people there and I couldn’t even really take it in because I genuinely thought I was going to drown with him.
“Folk were saying I was a hero and a legend but I’m not really that type of guy.
“There was no one else around, no paddleboards or inflatables at that side, and the boy was already in trouble saying he was going to die, so it was just instinct.
“If I hadn’t have gone for him then I don’t want to think what would have happened.”
White water warning
Adam said he plans to write to Perth and Kinross Council asking for signage to be put up highlighting the danger of swimming in the Tay near the railway bridge, and also hopes that more life-saving inflatables can be installed at each side of the river.
He said: “Everyone paddles at the front bit, but it doesn’t take long to drift and before you know it you’re at deep, white water which is deadly.
“I said that to the boy but he was in floods of tears, apologising. And, by the looks of him, I can’t imagine he’ll ever swim in a river again.”