A proud mum has described how her 11-year-old son jumped into a river to try to save his friend's life after he got swept away by the current.
Denise Thomas, 36, explained the terrifying moment on Tuesday when she received a call from a police officer after her son, Dylan, also got into difficulty while trying to rescue his friend.
The current in the River Tawe in Trebanos was so strong that both young boys were dragged downriver and had to cling onto a branch to try and stop themselves from being washed away.
Mrs Thomas, who is from Pontardawe, explained: "They were out playing like a normal day near Trebanos rugby club and the River Tawe. One of the boys entered the river and got taken down by the current and my son jumped in to save him.
"Dylan managed to get over to his friend and held onto him, but then they both got dragged away by the current. They both gripped on to a branch and held onto it. Another friend ran off to find help. He found a lady who was was walking her dog and she rang the emergency services at around 2.30pm. They were in the water for about 10 minutes altogether.
"Dylan was wearing jeans. He wasn't dressed to go in the river and didn't plan to go in the river - he would never be allowed to go in either. The jeans weighed him down while he was in there."
A police officer rang Mrs Thomas while she was at work asking her to make her way down to the incident as soon she could.
"I answered and it was a policewoman, who told me there had been some trouble at the river involving my son and that I should make my way down there. She said he was cold and in shock," she said.
"When I arrived it was scary seeing all the fire engines and emergency services at the river - the boys were sitting at the back of an ambulance.
"Dylan was shivering and kept saying he was sorry. He told the firefighters to get the other boy out first because he had been in the water a bit longer, but obviously they got them out at the same time.
"Luckily they were okay, but Dylan was shaken up. He didn't sleep that night at all. He can swim and I just hope it doesn't affect him with that in the future."
Though Mrs Thomas said she was proud of how her son responded when his friend got into trouble, she wanted people to think twice before getting into the river.
She said: "The river is very dangerous and I don't think people really realise it. When there has been heavy rainfall especially, the current is strong.
"I'm really proud of him, it was a very brave thing to do. We are very lucky that they came out of it okay and I want to thank the emergency services and lady who called them."
Karen Jones, head of community safety for Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, said: “This incident highlights the dangers of playing, paddling or swimming at unsupervised, un-lifeguarded, sites such as lakes, quarries reservoirs and rivers.
“The uneven banks of a river pose a high risk of falling into the open water.
“Strong currents can rapidly sweep people away, whilst the depth of the water can change and is unpredictable.
“Submerged objects may not be visible and can cause injury or trap you in the water.
“You could also suffer from ‘Cold Water Shock’ and this can be fatal. It removes heat from the body 32 times faster than cold air, causing cold shock – gasping, cramps, and inhalation of water, heart attack, stroke and rapid drowning.”
She added: “There is also a lack of safety equipment at these sites, which increases the difficulty of a water rescue.
“Please respect the water.”
