A BOY who was saved from drowning in a lido before being rushed to hospital, is said to be “up and well”.

Droitwich Spa Leisure Centre & Lido has thanked its staff and off-duty medic Andi Beale who pulled the seven-year-old from the pool on Saturday and gave him CPR.

A Facebook statement yesterday said: “Thank you for all the support, we are so proud of our Lido team and thank you to Ms Beale for all of her help.

“We’re glad to hear the boy is up and well, and we hope he has a speedy recovery.”

The youngster did not breathe for more than six minutes, but thanks to the persistence of staff and Ms Beale, clinical head of neurophysiology for Gloucestershire, he came to.

“It was very very difficult to deal with,” said the 57-year-old, from Worcester. “It’s always difficult, but particularly as it was a child and there was no sign of life. The whole scene was very distressing for everybody there.”

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Ms Beale was in the poolside cafe with her daughter Jodie Calvert and grandchildren, before rushing to the scene.

Three lifeguards were with him when she reached the pool, and one was performing CPR, while another – who she assumes had rescued the boy – was “soaking wet”.

“They had a very good emergency procedure in place. Everything was under control.” They then took it in turns to maintain CPR.

“It could’ve gone the opposite way, it was very close,” admitted Ms Beale.

An ambulance arrived within seven minutes of receiving the emergency call at 3.21pm and the boy was taken to Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

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On Facebook, Rachel Harrison said: “Fantastic work from the lifeguards, I can’t imagine how traumatic those minutes were.

"As a former lifeguard for Wychavon, these guys train at least weekly, procedures are practised. It’s paid off! The whole team need to be commended.”