THE heroic efforts of a paperboy have been recognised with the presentation of a national award.

Alasdair Evans from Brampton received the News Deliverer of the Year Merit Award at the prestigious National Federation of Retail Newsagents Awards on Tuesday in London.

The award recognises news deliverers who provide an outstanding service to their customers, working in all weathers.

Alasdair’s award was given not only for his contribution to Mitchelson’s News in Brampton, where he is employed as a news deliverer but also his bravery in saving a drowning child from the River Eden.

Alasdair and his friend Kit McMean rushed into the river from their sunbathing spots to save the seven-year-old year old boy, who had got into difficulty crossing the river with his dad.

The teenager’s bravery would not have been recognised without the help of 76-year-old John Little, who witnessed the incident.

“What they did was very brave. If they hadn’t have reached them, someone would’ve drowned I’m sure”, he said when The Cumberland News launched an appeal to find the heroic lads.

The 14-year-olds rushed into the river in June last year after seeing a man and young child struggling in fast-moving rapids close to Corby Castle.

They swam out about three quarters of the way across from their sandy riverbank on the Wetheral side of the Eden to reach the pair.

The pair managed to grab the boy, who is thought to be around seven years old and called ‘Jimmy’, and swim back to the shore where his upset mother was with a younger child.

It took several minutes for rescuers to coax the man from his ledge in the middle of the river back to the bank, witnesses said.

Both year nine pupils at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Penrith, revealed they were only at the river themselves because they wanted to cool off from the soaring temperatures in June last year.

Alasdair, of Falkins Hill, Brampton, is an experienced swimmer having had regular lessons from a very young age. One of his brothers is also a qualified lifeguard.

Alasdair, who has some basic lifesaving skills through his swimming training, said: “I remember just seeing his [the boy’s] head. We didn’t want him to go under again.”

He added: “It all happened so quickly. I remember the mum being really grateful when it was all over.”

After the rescue, the boys went to the nearby Crown Hotel where Kit used a phone to call his mum Claire Bainbridge.

Alasdair delivers papers for Mike Mitchelson, NFRN’s national president. He said: “I was really proud of Alasdair for using lifesaving skills. I was pleased he was rewarded for his bravery. I gave a speech at the event in London and had the pleasure of looking after Sir Trevor McDonald, the host. He was a popular man. Everyone wanted a selfie.”