HERO Chris Bannister dived into a river to save a little girl as she sank to the bottom.

Mechanic Chris, 21, had been enjoying the hot weather picnicking and sunbathing with his pals at Dinckley in the Ribble Valley when the drama happened.

He said: "My friends said they were going to go for a swim and we headed down the bank.

"I had no intention of going in the water and in the end I was the one that got soaked.

"I heard a splash and saw this body float past with a black costume on and a mop of blonde hair.

"She was face down and the current had caught her and I could hear a woman screaming.

"I just dived in and pulled her out and handed her back to her mum. "The girl was about two years old and I think her mum called her Catherine.

"She coughed and spluttered when I pulled her out and all of my friends gave me a round of applause and said well done."

The modest worker at Sanderson Ford in Burnley said he did not think too much about what he had done.

He said he just saw the girl in trouble and reacted.

Chris, who lives with his parents at Wheatley Springs, Barrowford, said: "I have completed training with St John Ambulance and so I know how to give resuscitation but fortunately the little girl was all right and her parents said thanks and left."

Chris's boss Stewart Robinson, service manager at Sanderson Ford, said: "I am very proud of him, and I am sure any of my employees would have acted in the same way if they came across a similar incident. Chris has been with us for three years and has been an excellent employee."

Do you know the identity of the little girl Chris saved? If so, ring the Evening Telegraph News Desk, 01254 678678 ext 220.

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