A mother and toddler have been rescued from the River Severn in Worcester after falling in while feeding ducks.
Passers-by spotted the pair in the water and threw lifebelts into the water to save them before dialling 999, an ambulance service spokesman said. The mother, who has not been named, and her 18-month-old daughter had been throwing bread to swans in the river when they both fell in at around 11.35am.
Paramedics praised a passing rowing coach, who managed to pull the woman to safety, an un-named Canadian woman who saved the child.
Paramedic Officer Keith Williams said: "I found a mother and an 18-month-old baby girl in the river.
"They were being supported by two lifebelts which had been thrown into the water by members of the public. I climbed down the fence and hung on to one of the ropes attached to the lifebelts to talk to the mother and reassure her.
"She was quite calm considering what had happened; the baby was crying. Then the ambulance crew and police arrived. A motorboat came along the river and saved the day."
Ben Reynolds, a member of Birmingham University Boat Club said: "I pulled up by the quay wall. A Canadian woman tried to climb down the quay wall ladder to get to the pair. The Canadian woman pulled the baby out of the water and I pulled out her mother."
