Heroic Yorkshire four-year-old saves father’s life in Spanish swimming pool

Alexander Dunn swam to the rescue after noticing his father, Ben, was unable to get out of the pool after going on a water slide in June. Ben had lost full use of his right side, the right side of his face had dropped and he was unable to speak after suffering from a stroke while in the pool.

Alexander, realising something was wrong, swam the length of the pool and alerted a lifeguard by telling them he needed his mother. The quick-thinking boy then spotted his mother, Danielle, and ran to her, saying: “Something is wrong with Daddy, he looks really weird.”

Ben was then pulled from the pool, stabilised by emergency services and taken to hospital where he was initially put on a ventilator and remained in hospital for ten days. He is now recovering well.

Danielle said: “I am so proud of his determination to overcome this. And my hero, my little boy at only four-years-old recognising a bad situation and dealing with it the way he did, my heart just bursts.

“If anyone can take anything from this, it’s to please, please, please encourage your children to learn to swim.

“Help them be safe in the water. Alexander has had swimming lessons with Fiona at Swimbabes since he was five-weeks old, and if he was not as confident in the water this could have been a totally different situation.”

Alexander was awarded a Young Persons Certificate of Commendation from the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) for his heroic actions.