PARENTS and carers are being asked to ensure their children stay well away from the River Okement in Simmons Park, Okehampton, after a nine-year-old boy had to be rescued from its swollen waters on Tuesday. Nursery manager Julie Sylvester and her son, Guy, were walking through Simmons Park in the afternoon when they saw the boy clambering on the rocks beneath the second bridge, near the children?s play area. Julie said: ?He slipped and was left clinging to the rocks trying to stay above the waters. ?The rocks are so slippery at the moment and the water?s so fast and strong.? Julie?s son went into the river to pull the boy out. ?He?s six-foot tall but even he had to be careful because the current?s so strong,? Julie said. ?I don?t like to think what would have happened if he hadn?t been there.? After the boy had been rescued, Julie and Guy handed him over to a man who was looking after him for the afternoon. As the school summer holidays begin, Dartmoor Rescue Group is also asking families to be aware that the rivers on the moor are rising very quickly at present. Controller Paul Vachon said: ?The rivers are pretty dangerous at the moment and people should be very wary that they are deeper than usual.?
