A 12-year-old boating fanatic and his mother rescued a man from the Thames when he fell in near Richmond Riverside this week.

Louise Rees, 49, along with her son, were driving their dory boat along the river on Wednesday evening, September 4, when a passerby shouted to say somebody had fallen in the river.

Mrs Rees said: “He had fallen off his boat so we went over to try to help him.

“My son did a really good job at manoeuvring the boat and then we hitched him up.”

Mrs Rees was on the boat with her son and two friends when another man on the river came to help.

It took the group about 15 minutes to pull the man, who was wearing a life jacket, on to boat.

He was fully clothed, including shoes, and the boaters managed to pull him up from the river near the White Cross pub in Richmond.

Mrs Rees, who lives in Strawberry Vale, said: “We were trying to hitch him out of the river, but it took us ages to do.

“He was very clam the whole time and I think he was a bit embarrassed.

“It just shows the importance of wearing life jackets because the current is really strong down by Richmond.”

Piers, who attends Radnor House School, is a keen boater and often goes out for jaunts on the rover.

Mrs Rees said: “He is so good on the boat and he was ever so brave.”

No emergency services were called and the man thanked them and then went on his way.