A BRAVE mum spoke today about the moment she thought she had saved a four-year-old boy who drowned trying to retrieve his football from the canal.

Doris Yates, 35, gave Hamaad Shahid mouth-to-mouth resuscitation after he was pulled from the Leeds-Liverpool canal in Stoneyholme by another passer-by at 7pm on Sunday.

The mother-of-three, from Clegg Street, rushed to help after her 16-year-old daughter, Ann-Marie, spotted the boy in the water and ran home to raise the alarm.

Doris said: "Ann-Marie was in tears when she got home. I thought she had been in a fight but she told me to get help as there was a little body in the canal.

"I phoned for an ambulance and then ran down to the canal.

"At one point, he Hamaad gasped so I thought that it was working and I continued until the police arrived. The paramedics whisked him off in the ambulance and that was the last we saw of him.

"All I can remember is his eyes - they were so white, probably because of the shock of the water being so cold.

"When I got home my legs wouldn't stop shaking because of the adrenalin.

"There were lots of people stood round but nobody knew what to do so I did what any person would have done in the circumstances.

"I am just so sorry that I couldn't have saved him."

Hamaad had gone to a park near the canal with his mother, grandmother and cousins, and had been playing football when he disappeared from their sight. Azmat Ali, 33, of James Street, who was playing cricket in the park with his children, bravely jumped into the canal to rescue the youngster after three youths told him there was a boy in the water.

The father-of-four, who works at the DIY store Focus, said Hamaad was floating face-up and his body was half submerged.

He said: "I didn't think twice, I just jumped in and swam out to him. The three lads who spotted him helped me pull him onto the bank.

"It was a terrible shock - I have never experienced anything like that before."

Police officers at the scene continued attempts to resuscitate Hamaad until paramedics arrived. He was taken to Burnley General Hospital but was later pronounced dead.

Mohammed Bashir, Hamaad's grandfather, said the family was devastated by his death. The 71-year-old, of Spencer Street, said: "I have no words that can describe how we are feeling.

"He was a lovely child and would wave at me through the window when he was playing outside in the street.

"This has been a terrible shock for the whole family."

Hamaad, who attended a nearby nursery school and was due to start primary school in September, lived in Spencer Street with his mum, Shahin, 23; dad, Shahid Habib, 25, and baby brother Fahaad, two.

Friends and relatives have been visiting the family's home since the tragedy to pay their respects.

Inspector Damian Darcy of Burnley Police said: "There are no suspicious circumstances, it's just a tragic accident."

Ward councillor Mozaquir Ali said: "This is a terrible tragedy and my thoughts and prayers are with the family."

Burnley Mayor, Coun Lilian Clark, said her heart went out to the family.

She added: "My sympathies are with them at this difficult time.

"I hope that other parents and children will take this as warning of the dangers of playing near the canal."

A post mortem examination is to be carried out before an inquest is held.