Community award for Hinckley hero

Hinckley Hero Ben Yates has been presented with a community award by the Mayor for jumping into a lock to save a five year old girl.

Ben came to the girl's aid while on a family day out at Foxton Locks after hearing a scream.

Ben managed to reach the girl and, with the aid of others, pulled her safely to the side. The girl has since made a full recovery.

Ben believes the girl survived thanks to swimming lessons that she'd recently begun to take. He said: "Without swimming lessons, the outcome would have been unthinkable. There's no doubt in my mind of that. There just wouldn't have been enough time to get to her, treading water for those few seconds saved her life."

The Mayor of Hinckley and Bosworth, Jan Kirby said:

It was a great pleasure and honour to be able to present this award to Ben, on that day he was prepared to put his life at risk without hesitation to save this young girl's life; luckily it had a happy ending. The girl's family must be so grateful to him and we as a borough are all proud of him.

A community award is presented by the Mayor to recognise acts of outstanding community spirit.