Woman, 62, praises boys who rescued her from river

A 62-year-old woman who hit her head and fell into a river has praised the "amazing" teenage boys who rescued her.

Helen Gardner, from Sarn, Bridgend county, was throwing stones into the River Ogmore near Aberkenfig for her dog when she lost her footing.

She hit her head, suffering injuries to her skull, a bleed on the outside of her brain and concussion.

Ms Gardner, who has rheumatoid arthritis, was unable to get out of the water until 14-year-olds Aiden and Jacob heard her cries for help.

Ms Gardner was taking her French bulldog Mali for a walk on 22 April when, unbeknown to her, she had locked the lead.

"She pulled me and I fell forward, tripped over a large root of a tree and went smack into it."

She tried to stop her fall but had nothing to grab on to.

"All of me was submerged in the water apart from my right hip," she said.

"I lay there for a while, a couple of minutes, I don’t think I lost consciousness. I tried to pull myself out, but my clothes were so sodden and heavy I couldn’t.

"Because I have rheumatoid arthritis, my legs are very weak. I haven’t done anything for about five months. So I was just laying in the water with my dog sitting next to me."

She shouted for help, but a passing cyclist did not hear her.

"I kept shouting ‘help, help’ until these two young lads came down the path," she added.

"I shouted ‘boys, boys, please can you help me’ and they ran over, jumped down and helped me out of the water.

"I stood up and I was shaking, I was in an awful state."

With her right hand covered in blood and a lump on her head "the size of a large potato", Aiden and Jacob helped Ms Gardner on to the path and phoned her wife, who took her to hospital.

Despite calls from Ms Gardner for the boys to receive a medal for their actions, they were both modest about their heroic deed.

"I was a bit shocked because I didn’t know what to do. I mean it’s not everyday that you find somebody in the river," said Jacob.

"When we found her she was crying and kept repeating herself, she kept saying what had happened and saying thank you to us.

"I was more worried than scared... When you've got quite an elderly woman who is bleeding from her head, about to collapse in the middle of a cycle track, you don't really know what to do."

Aiden added: "My parents have kept saying how well we did and how proud they are. All of our friends have said well done.

"I wasn't scared. It was more worrying because we didn't know if she was OK."

A week after her dramatic ordeal, Ms Gardner was delighted when the boys visited her to make sure she was recovering well.

"They were amazing," she said.

"Those boys deserve a medal, I’m hoping that Bridgend county council will recognise them for an award.

"If they hadn’t come then, I don’t know what I would’ve done. I consider myself extremely lucky."