A SECURITY guard has been heralded a hero after saving a man from a freezing river after he lost his footing and fell in.

Danny Kesler, who works as a security guard at Asda House in Leeds, was on duty on in the early hours of Sunday morning when he noticed a man walking alongside the River Aire, near the rear of the building on Great Wilson Street.

He witnessed him fall into the river and immediately ran from the security CCTV desk to the riverside. Using a length of cable he had managed to find, he threw this down to the man, shouting to him to grab on.

Crews from West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service were quickly on the scene.

Watch Manager Lee Burrows said: “Fire crews secured the casualty and brought him onto the bankside to await the ambulance. The man was conscious and breathing throughout but very cold and borderline hypothermic.

“I firmly believe that Danny played a huge part in saving the life of this man, and things could have been very different if he hadn’t seen him fall in as there was no one else around at this time of the morning to witness the fall.

Danny said: “I was monitoring the security cameras when I noticed a young man on the riverbank.

 “Just out of nowhere he lost his balance and fell into the water, so I quickly just ran outside and did what anyone else would do.

“It was amazing to see such a quick response from the fire service and I’m just happy I was able to help and keep him safe – I’m really pleased he’s making a good recovery.”

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