Stefan Johnson was on a family walk with his wife Sophie, their children George, three, and Nora, three months, and their Labrador Bonnie at Bridgend's Bryngarw Country Park when they spotted a young boy face down and unconscious in the water. He immediately dropped his bag and the dog lead, jumped into the duck pond and pulled the three-year-old out.
With his wife Sophie, 29, "crying and shaking", Stefan laid the boy on land and saw he was not breathing. The father-of-two started chest compressions.
Father jumps into pond
Stefan said: "I threw everything on the floor and jumped in and grabbed him. You're not thinking, it felt like I had no emotion, like it had been turned off. Sophie was hysterical, she was crying and shaking, saying 'he's dead'. I got him out and noticed he wasn't breathing so I started chest compressions."
He added: "I remember that I couldn't open his mouth because his mouth was locked shut but water began to dribble out of his mouth but I couldn't find a pulse."
Sophie ran to a group nearby to ask for help and to call an ambulance. It arrived quickly, but before that, wedding guests at Bryngarw House, nurses Kelsey Pirie and Emma Brown, had been alerted. They kicked off their heels and ran to the pond to assist Stefan.
Wedding guests come to help
Kelsey and Emma took over CPR, spending about five minutes attempting to resuscitate the boy, who initially had no pulse. Kelsey said: "We don't know how long he had been in the water but he was unresponsive and there were no signs of life. He had no pulse. I started doing chest compressions and Emma started giving rescue breaths."
Emma added: "It was difficult due to the amount of water, but after about five minutes he started breathing."
An air ambulance and paramedics arrived at the scene and were able to resuscitate the toddler. Stefan recalled: "Before I knew it there was an ambulance pulling up and a helicopter landing on the field, it felt like it all happened in three seconds.
"I remember seeing his chest started moving, the rib started coming in and out as the paramedics were seeing to him. I was standing there. I was so happy. I had a feeling it would be all right anyway, I didn't have a sense of doom for some reason."
Nightmares after the rescue
Stefan said the incident has started to affect him since, including nightmares. "It's afterwards. That's when it all started to affect me a bit. When I'm driving on my own and with my new thoughts. And when I sleep, because I was having dreams that it was George drowning and I couldn't save him, I dived in and I couldn't find him. I was waking up and in a panic. But it was lucky that I was there that day and I'm happy that it worked out."
The three-year-old boy, from Newport, was taken to hospital in a stable condition. South Wales Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.
First aid course made the difference
Stefan had attended a first aid refresher course just two weeks before the rescue, as part of his role as a support worker. He said: "I had a refresher course only two weeks before this happened and without it I wouldn't have had a clue what to do. If more people knew these skills it would save a lot more lives, especially in this weather with people out swimming."
Stefan, Emma and Kelsey have been nominated by South Wales Police for a bravery award from the Royal Humane Society for their courage in saving the boy's life.
