A seven-year-old Birmingham boy was still fighting for his life last night after he nearly drowned in a pool at a Welsh leisure centre.

The boy, who has not been named, was hauled from the pool at Splashland, in Trecco Bay, Porthcawl, at around 11.30am on Tuesday when he got into difficulties.

An investigation by Bridgend Council was continuing yesterday as police described the boy's condition as "serious but stable".

The schoolboy was pulled to safety by leisure centre staff who administered first aid before he was rushed to the Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend.

He was then transferred to University Hospital of Wales, in Cardiff, where his family were at his bedside yesterday.

Holidaymaker Mark Lewis, aged 33, from Merthyr Tydfil, saw a crowd gathered outside the pool on Tuesday.

He said: "A woman was crying saying 'my son, my son' and we also saw a lifeguard crying. Then an ambulance arrived and we saw them bringing a boy out on a trolley. He looked about five or six.

"Minutes later the police began to turn up."