Firefighters who came to the rescue of a young boy at a park no doubt saved his life, according to their station manager.

The firefighters from Dagenham were training near Fairlop Lake in Fairlop Waters Country Park, Forest Road, Barkingside. when they realised an 11-year-old boy was trapped in a boat’s propeller which had become tied around his shoe laces.

As reported in last week’s Recorder, park staff had been supporting the boy when firefighters Geoff Hircock, Mark Timothy, Ellis Webb and Adam Flanagan entered the water to relieve them.

Dagenham’s Station manager, Paul McClenaghan, said: “There is no doubt in my mind that the actions of those firefighters saved the young man’s life. He had been in the water for nearly half an hour before we were alerted, so if we hadn’t been training nearby, this could have ended tragically”.

The boy from St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Chingford is understood to have undergone at least two operations since the accident.