A 10-YEAR-OLD boy trapped up to his waist in a muddy river bed was rescued just moments before he passed out from the cold.

Christian Wheadon, of Fair View Road, Burnley, was playing on the banks of the River Calder at Padiham yesterday afternoon with his young cousins Christopher, Nathan and Shane Holding when he became lodged in the mud which sucked him in up to his waist.

His aunt Catherine Holding, who lives in Elizabeth Street, Padiham, said: "I tried to get him out and his grandfather Robert tried but he was stuck fast.

"He was laughing about it until the firefighters arrived and then he started to get worried. There was water all around him and he was freezing.

"When they finally pulled him out he was groggy and falling asleep and his legs were hurting him from the pressure of the mud and cold." Paramedic Mark Cox said: "He was absolutely petrified. The suction of the mud had pulled him right in and he couldn't move.

"Children don't realise the dangers but it could have turned quite nasty. The water was freezing.

"By the time we got him out he was on the verge of hypothermia and passed out in the ambulance.

"If he had done that while still in the water he would have gone in head first and that would have been that."

Firefighters from Padiham were hooked up to rescue lines before wading into the water to dig out Christian's legs while the paramedic kept him talking and monitored his vital signs.

Christian was taken to Burnley General Hospital, but was allowed home after treatment.

Catherine added: "I have warned my children not to go near the river in future, but it is like a magnet especially when it gets hot - they don't realise how cold the water is.

"If it happened to anyone it would have been to Christian because he is accident prone."

Christian, who lives with his grandparents was none the worse for his ordeal but was kept home from St Stephen's School today.

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