Super boy!

Connor Scott was not breathing and was lifeless when firefighters rescued him from a watery grave. The schoolboy had been playing with two friends in brambles above the River Tonge when he slipped down a 40ft bank into the water below.

Firemen faced a race against time and eventually spotted him at the bottom of the 3ft 6ins deep river by Tonge Bridge Way. Firefighters Mick Hobbins and Martin Brocklehurst jumped in the water to pull him out. But Connor, of The Willows, Bradley Fold, was not breathing and firefighters spent five minutes resuscitating him on the river bank before they finally spotted any signs of life.

Connor's body temperature had dropped to just 22 degrees centigrade - a temperature at which most people suffering from hypothermia die. A healthy person's temperature is 37 degrees centigrade.

The youngster was breathing when paramedics arrived. He was taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital where doctors battled to save his life, warming him gradually and putting him on a ventilator to help his breathing, before he was transferred to the high dependency unit at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Pendlebury.

Doctors have since been amazed by his recovery.

In less than 24 hours, Connor was taken off the ventilator, and was last night sitting up watching television in his hospital bed after being transferred back to the Royal Bolton Hospital.

Today, his mother Jade Keegan and father Lee Scott admitted they thought they had lost their son forever and have described his survival as a miracle.

Connor's mother said: "The nurses said they have never seen a child recover so quickly from so serious an accident."

The accident happened as Connor was spending the weekend at his father's home in Hypatia Street, Tonge Fold.

Connor and two friends were playing in brambles near the River Tonge when he slipped down the muddy bank and plunged into the water.

His friends tried unsuccessfully to reach him using sticks before running to a nearby house to raise the alarm.

Firemen from Bolton Central fire station were quickly on the scene and, luckily, the water at the place where Connor had fallen was clear and so they quickly located him.

Connor, a pupil at Bowness Primary School, Little Lever, was lifted on to the bank before the firefighting team started the task of trying to resuscitate him.

Station officer Jim O'Byrne said: "He was unconscious and there were no signs of life."

Connor was carried up the embankment where three firemen spent five minutes carrying out mouth to mouth resuscitation before he finally coughed and started breathing.

Connor was taken to hospital by ambulance while 31-year-old Mr Scott was informed of the accident by police.

He rang his former partner, Ms Keegan - who was waiting at home for a mother's day phone call from her son - to break the news.

His parents say they were numb and in shock while doctors fought to save Connor and are overjoyed by his recovery.

Ms Keegan, aged 31, said: "It is an absolute miracle."

Mr Scott added: "The last few hours have been the worst nightmare any parents can have."

After coming off the ventilator, Connor's first words were "Hi Mum, I love you" and the determined little boy was adamant he would not follow nursing staff's advice and get some sleep.

His family just want to get him home now so he can spend time with his sister Natasha Keegan, aged 14, and brother, 23-month-old Harrison White.

And Mr Scott is determined when he is well enough, Connor will pay a special visit to the fire station to thank the firemen who rescued him.

Mr Scott said: "All the staff have been fantastic and the fire brigade at Bolton definitely deserve a few beers."

Cold water saved Conor's life:

LITTLE Connor Scott's body temperature had fallen to a mere 22 deg C when he was rescued by firefighters from the ice cold waters of the River Tonge.

It is a temperature that kills many people.

The normal body temperature is 37 deg C and hypothermia sets in when the body temperature drops below 35 deg C.

When the body temperature drops below 27 deg C in many cases it is fatal. Doctors and the firefighters who saved his life say Connor was lucky to have survived.

But people can survive such extreme cold as the lower temperature means that the requirement of the body's tissues for oxygen is lessened.

This means the cells of the brain, which are especially susceptible to lack of oxygen, can be deprived of their blood supply for longer than when the body is at normal temperature.

Dr Richard Parris, a consultant in the accident and emergency department, said that Connor's age was the main reason he survived.

"The cold protects the brain from the lack of oxygen and as soon as the youngster came out of the water he was given oxygen to get his heart going by the fire service and paramedics.

"The fact that he was in cold water was a very good thing for him."