A TEN-YEAR-OLD boy rescued his uncle after he was knocked unconscious and fell into a river.

Connor Gill, from Edwinstowe, rushed to the aid of his uncle Simon Gill after seeing that he was face-down in the water and had blood pouring from a head wound.

The schoolboy lifted Simon's head out of the water and got a passerby to help him drag the 43-year-old to the river bank.

He then dialled 999 using his uncle's mobile phone and ran to fetch his parents for help.

Simon had been swinging on a rope over the river in Edwinstowe after a family gathering, when he fell.

Connor said: "I thought he was messing about at first, but then I knew there was something wrong because the water went red.

"I jumped in and held his head out the water because he was face-down in the river.

"It was just an instinct. Then I used his mobile phone to call 999. It came as quite a shock."

Mum Dawn said the pair had gone down to the river after a family gathering to celebrate her daughter's christening.

She said: "Three of the boys wanted to go on the rope swing and I wouldn't let them go without an adult.

"Simon went with them and he tested the rope swing out first to check it was safe but he fell off and landed face-down in the water.

"We are really proud of Connor. He is very grown-up for his age."

Paramedics answered the 999 call and Simon was taken to hospital to have his head wound treated.

Simon, also from Edwinstowe, said: "I was showing off and I grabbed hold of the swing and swung across the river.

"According to my nephew, I let go and hit my head on the tree roots, rolled into the river and I was face-down in the water. I was out and I can't remember it."

He said his nephew's actions were "fantastic".

"It was like a war film, holding my head out of the water."

samantha.hughes@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk