A Christian schoolboy has described how he disobeyed his father in a bid to save the drowning victims of a canal boat tragedy.

David Grimm dived into the lock at Gargrave in a desperate attempt to save four disabled adults.

And yesterday David, his father Stephen, Skipton firefighters Eddie Atkinson and Stephen Barrett, and lock-keeper Stephen Rawson, of Bank Newton, near Gargrave, who joined the rescue bid, were honoured for their bravery at a ceremony organised by North Yorkshire Police.

They all received Royal Humane Society Awards from North Yorkshire Chief Constable David Kenworthy.

David and Stephen were on holiday in a neighbouring narrow boat on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal on August 19 last year when the Drum Major flooded after becoming snagged in Stegneck Lock.

It was carrying adults with special needs from a centre in Cumbria. All four died in the tragedy.

David, now 16, who lives in Nottingham, said: "Neither of my parents wanted me to go in. They said it was far too dangerous but I'm a Christian and I believed that it was right to do that.

"I got in the back of the boat that had sunk and tried to get around a mattress that was blocking the way in. It was quite dark and scary. This guy was floating on his face and I passed him to my dad and went further into the boat.

"It affected me afterwards. I wasn't my usual self."

Mr Grimm, 45, said: "David called out three times and said he was going in. He is very headstrong and behaved as you would expect a 15-year-old to do.

"I went in because I didn't want him to go in on his own but we were far too late to do anything and I regret that.

"When he passed the body to me he went as white as a sheet. I am used to handling death because of my work for social services but it was the first time for him."

Three of the victims were dragged to the top of the boat by David and his father, while retained firefighters Eddie Atkinson and Stephen Barrett pulled the fourth victim free.

Mr Barrett, 35, said: "I'm proud to receive it though the real glory goes to the civilians. We were just doing our job but they are the real heroes."

Shona Cole, 28, of Steeton, near Keighley, who gave the kiss of life to a stranger whose invalid chair spun out of control on the banks of the River Wharfe, also received a Royal Humane Society resuscitation certificate.

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