A KELSALL man has been hailed a hero for his part in a New Zealand river rescue in which he risked his life to help save three children from drowning.
John Beswick, who grew up in the village but moved to New Zealand two years ago to become a firefighter, was on duty last Sunday when a family’s dinghy capsized into the raging icy waters of Manukau Harbour in Auckland.
Mr Beswick, 35, arrived at the scene to find three children clinging to pylons below the harbour bridge after being separated from their 45-year-old father who is still missing and seven-year-old sibling who tragically died. He heroically jumped into the freezing waters to help rescue them.
