PEOPLE on a river bank 'stood and watched' as a nine-year-old boy was face down, drowning in the water – according to the woman who dove in and desperately tried to save him.
Passing horserider Louise Bennett, 40, jumped in to rescue the youngster, who had got into difficulties in the River Dearne at Dearne Valley Park, Hoyle Mill.
She said there were seven or eight people watching – but none of them did anything to help the boy, who is now fighting for his life in Sheffield Children's Hospital.
Louise, 40, of Tredis Close, Monk Bretton, said: "I caught a glimpse of the boy's blue top under the water and shouted 'what the hell are you doing, isn't anyone going in?'"
Louise described how she and another woman did CPR on the boy when she managed to get him to the river bank. Another little boy was petrified and screaming hysterically and also had to be helped to the shore.
** The full story appears in the Barnsley Chronicle, dated August 15. **
