The parents of 15-month-old Reggie Hampton named Riley Ferguson their son’s guardian angel.
Riley Ferguson, 15, was walking his dogs along the canalized section of the Eyre and Calder Rivers in West Yorkshire, England, when he saw 15-month-old Reggie Hampton fall into the canal water.
Reggie was playing in the garden of the house and ran out the back gate.
Riley said: “I heard this little kid screaming and waving his arms. I realized that he was very small. And I thought that it was necessary to hold him so that the boy would not fall into the water.”
“A few seconds later, the kid ran up to the canal, I saw that his feet were dipping into the water. I threw off my coat and jumped after him. When I swam to the child, he had already almost sunk to the bottom. I told him you’ll be fine, I’m with you.”
The baby’s mom, Becca, called Riley a “guardian angel” in a Facebook post.
Becca posted a photo of Riley and Reggie and wrote:
“Our hero with my boy… We will print this photo, put it in a frame and hang it so that Reggie can see it… So he knows who his angel is. Reggie will always know who his hero is… and we are forever indebted to you, Riley.”
Riley’s parents, Michael and Amy, said they were very proud of their brave son.
“We are stunned, and we are of course really proud of him. He was great, our son was not strong enough to pull the child out of the canal himself, and he held the baby above the water for a while, so others came to the rescue”.
Local council member Tom Gordon urged the mayor to acknowledge Riley for his brave and selfless actions.
Gordon said: “Our city is very lucky to have a guy like Riley. He is a hero and deserves to be recognized as such.”
Locals have launched a campaign for Riley to have the teenager awarded the Pride of Britain award.
They set up a Go Fund Me page to raise money for Riley, but the teenager is not going to accept it – he plans to donate the funds raised to the NHS (UK Health Service).
