'I saved my stepdad's life on a water park ride'

A teenager has been hailed a hero after she saved her stepdad's life when he hit his head at the bottom of a pool.

Ellie, 15, from North Hykeham in Lincolnshire, used her air cadets first aid training when her stepdad was knocked unconscious at the bottom of a water slide.

The accident took place on 28 May during a family day out to Splashdown Quaywest Waterpark in Devon.

Her stepdad, Carl, said: "To me Ellie is my hero, she saved my life and she saved the rest of the family by doing what she did."

Carl, 46, who runs a bicycle repair business, said he was being his "usual jovial self" when they decided to go on one more ride before lunch.

He said the last thing he can remember is coming down the slide and hitting the pool.

Ellie said she saw him fall backwards out of his rubber ring due to the force of the water before he came up again holding his head.

He then became unresponsive, dizzy and was stumbling, when Ellie quickly stepped in to get him out of the water whilst calling for help and maintaining his airway.

"It was really horrible, it made me sad.

"What if he wasn't going to be okay or wake up, those were the emotions running around [my head]," she said.

Ellie added that she was "proud of herself" for what she did and advised people to take a first aid course.

Carl was taken to Torbay Hospital with severe concussion, which has left him with a tremor in his left leg and a slur in his words.

He said: "My emotions have been all over since the accident, I'm probably a bit more loving towards everyone because I'm so grateful."

Ellie, who has wanted to be a pilot since the age of three, was recently promoted to a sergeant in the Royal Air Force Air Cadets (RAFAC), where she learnt the first aid training she used to save her stepdad.

Her commander, Flying Officer Phil Anelay for RAFAC at 1237 North Hykeham Squadron, said he felt "pride in what Ellie had achieved" when he heard about the incident.

"Not only had Ellie been trained because of the air cadets, but she actually had the courage to step up and use it," he said.

Splashdown Quaywest Water Park said: "Her quick actions gave our well-trained waterpark lifeguard team the valuable seconds needed to get to Carl and ensure he was safe.

"Her bravery in a really stressful situation gave her stepdad the best possible chance and turned what could have been a life-changing event into what was in the end a much more minor injury."

Carl said: "Other kids might have run off to get their mum but Ellie is my superhero."

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