Two children rescued from drowning in popular paddling spot by hero Milton Keynes dad

A hero dad has saved the lives of two young girls who went swimming in a popular local stretch of water.

The girls, who were aged 10 and 11, had gone to a spot that locals call The Beach in Newport Pagnell on Sunday afternoon with their friends and their friends’ mum, who was in a wheelchair.

Near Bury Common, it is part of the River Great Ouse and has a sandy shoreline with shallow areas where children frequently paddle.

But the problem is that it plunges to a depth of eight feet nearby – and can have a heavy current.

The girls had ventured into this part and were jumping off the bank into the river when they suddenly got into distress.

Dad of three Sam Meeks was there with his partner De-enna and their children when he heard one of the girls’ friends scream for help.

"He was shouting ‘help them, they’re drowning’. I looked over and I could see the two girls struggling and going underwater.

"They were holding on to each other and clearly drowning. It looked like one was a stronger swimmer and trying to save the other but in fact they were pulling each other under.

“I saw their heads submerge and then go underwater again. This happened about eight times.

Sam, who is 31, and lives on Heelands, plunged into the water and swam out to reach the girls.

"I knew I couldn’t carry both of them at once as the current was strong and I was struggling too. So when I reached them I dived underwater until I could grab hold of their legs. I tried to push them upwards and forward, towards the bank, where it was more shallow.”

Sam finally got the girls to the shallow water, where they both clung onto him for dear life as he helped them out.

"They were in a real state.. They were white and shaking but lucky hadn't swallowed too much water and were able to breathe okay.”

He and De-enna sat them down and offered them sweet snacks to help with the shock until they were were fit to return home with the friends’ mum.

Both their parents only learned afterwards of the near-drowning drama and they put out a plea on social media to trace the mystery hero who saved their daughter’s lives.

Yesterday (Monday) Sam was traced so they could thank him properly.

"Without him, my daughter might not have been here today. Another few seconds and she might have been dead… I want to say a big thank you to this man,” said one of the mums.

"My daughter is a strong swimmer. She tried to help her friend but the current was too strong and they were both in real danger. Sam was a real hero.”

The other mum said: “This man has saved my child. I am forever thankful he did it. I’m not sure how I would recover if something happened to her.

The Parks Trust repeatedly warns people not to swim in rivers and lakes in MK and there have been several incidents of tragic drownings over the years.

"The only safe place to swim is in a swimming pool,” they say.