A MOTHER has thanked an anonymous kind rescuer who pulled her son out of Tavistock Canal when he fell in as he walked home from Tavistock College in uniform and carrying a rucksack, his mobile phone and coat.

Joe Monk, 11, from Ford Street, Tavistock, accidentally stepped backwards into the canal in the Meadows Park to get out of the way as he watched a group of runners training.

Joe’s mother Emma said: ‘A woman running past pulled him out, then walked into the canal to get his coat after taking her running shoes and socks off. She even walked him home. She was a very kind and thoughtful. We’re both grateful. It’s not deep, just to his knees, but he was shocked.’

Joe said: ‘I don’t really know what happened. But I did step backwards and didn’t know I was so close to the canal. It was cold and I thought I might drown. But it’s not very deep. I could stand on the bottom.

‘One of the women running past bent down to give me her hands, so I held on to her and she pulled me up. She then walked into the canal to get my coat which I dropped. She walked home with me to make sure I was ok and talked to me.’

Emma bought Joe his favourite chocolate milkshake as a treat. She also replaced his drowned phone, essential for school homework assignments from teachers. The laptop survived.

Pictured are Joe and mum Emma by the canal.