'Superhero' Jaxon, five, praised for saving dog stuck in flooded stream near Preston

Jaxon Youd, from Hoghton, near Preston, has been hailed a 'real-life superhero' for saving a dog from a flooded stream.

A five-year-old boy has been hailed a hero after he saved a dog from drowning in a flooded stream.

Jaxon Youd, from Hoghton, near Preston, was on a nature walk at Brindle Lodge with his mum, Carly, 31, and sister Josie, seven, when they heard a cry for help from the woods.

Eagle-eyed Josie then spotted a woman lying on the ground near the brook below and alerted her mum.

Dog walker Collette Martin lay crumpled on the ground near the river after tumbling down the steep, muddy embankment - fracturing her wrist.

Collette Martin, who broke her wrist in a fall near a brook in Hoghton, with her dog, Roxy, who became stuck in the water.

Collette pointed towards the water, where her Jack Russell, Roxy, was half-submerged beneath the rushing water and paddling wildly to stay afloat.

Quick-thinking Jaxon sprung straight into action to help the eight-year-old dog.

“Before I could even think of what to do, Jaxon was already scrambling down the slippery embankment to rescue the poor thing,” said Carly.

“The dog was starting to go under, and it was looking shattered trying to keep its head above the water.

Jaxon with his sister Josie, who spotted Colette while they were out walking

“The poor woman was hysterical, she was watching her dog drowning before her eyes.

“But Jaxon didn’t think twice. He slid down the embankment on his bottom and jumped straight into the water.

“He waded in and reached for Roxy’s harness and pulled her from the water with all his might.

“We couldn’t believe how quick and instinctively he reacted in that situation.”

As Jaxon held onto a shivering Roxy, Josie comforted the injured woman and mum Carly called the emergency services.

Collette said: “Jaxon is a real-life superhero, he really is. I dread to think what would have happened to us both if they hadn’t found me.

“Me and Roxy go on that walk every day, and nothing like this has ever happened before.

“But the rain made the embankment really slippery and I lost my footing and went down like a ton of bricks.

“I had been lying there for about 20 minutes, and I was beginning to panic.

“Then Roxy ended up in the river and she became stuck. She couldn’t climb onto the embankment because it was so slippy.

“It was a nightmare, watching her helpless, as she paddled her little legs to keep her head above the water.