Heroes rescue Ralph during pond drama

A mum has thanked those who saved her 21-month-old son’s life after he ended up face down in the pond at Ayscoughfee Gardens.

Tina Barnes was at a family 60th birthday party when son Ralph got into trouble on Tuesday, May 18.

But thanks to Curtis Moulder, who pulled the semi-conscious youngster from the water, staff at Ayscoughfee cafe, the MAGPAS Air Ambulance and Peterborough City Hospital, he’s fine after being rescued just in time.

Curtis, who was having a coffee at the cafe at the time, first noticed something was wrong when he noticed Ralph’s four-year-old brother Reggie in hysterics.

The pair had been playing with a stick which fell into water and Ralph tried to retrieve.

“I thought the boy might be crying because he’d fallen over for a start, but then a woman came running up saying a little boy was in the pond,” Curtis said. “I looked over and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. He was face down in the water, but thankfully still kicking.

“I can’t swim, none of us can, and we had no idea how deep it was but Courtney Boulding (cafe staff) held on to me and I was able to reach forward, grab hold of his hood and pull him to the side.

“I checked he was breathing and his pulse which Sarah from the cafe did too.

“Then we got him out of the cold clothes and used everything we could to keep him warm, lots of coats and tea towels from the cafe.”

Ralph was slipping in and out of consciousness at this point so Curtis, of Alexandra Road, sat and made animal noises with him for 20 minutes before the ambulance arrived.

“I just did what anybody would do in that situation,” said Curtis who is a stock picker at Fowler Welch. “It was natural instinct.”

Tina’s family was on the water taxi that day for Ralph’s nanny Karen Howling’s 60th birthday.

After time on the boat Ralph and Reggie were taken to Ayscoughfee Gardens by Tina’s mum Jacky.

“They were getting a bit bored on the boat so they went there to stretch their legs,” said Tina. “The first I knew something was wrong was getting a phone call from my mum but she was hysterical and could hardly speak.

“Obviously the water taxi doesn’t go very fast, so the slow trip back was horrible.

“When I finally got there I saw the air ambulance and thought ‘oh my god is that for us?’

“The hospital staff said if Ralph had been in the water any longer it would have been a different story.

“I can’t thank everyone enough.

“The Ayscoughfee staff and Curtis saved my boy’s life. Not all heroes wear capes.

“I don’t really know how I can repay them enough.

“The air ambulance staff were brilliant. Those at the hospital in the Jungle paediatric and Amazon wards were absolutely fantastic too.

“They kept him in overnight as they were mainly worried about the murky water he’d consumed.

“He kept being sick and I was worried he might have some kind of brain damage or something.

“But the next day he was making farm animal noises again and I knew he was going to be fine.”

Tina brought the cafe staff flowers and put some money on Curtis’s tab at the eatery.

The family themselves are regular visitors to Ayscoughfee including walking there from their St John’s Circus home most Sundays while litter picking after being inspired by the Wombles of Spalding Common.

“Reggie and Ralph specialise in collecting aluminium cans for the Air Ambulance,” Tina explained. “We’ll definitely be doing more of that now.

“After the initial shock Reggie’s been telling everyone about how an air ambulance came to help his brother.

“I have been pointing out to them that this is why you should never play around water.

“I’d been unable to relax when they were on the boat even with all the safety equipment on and thought I could when they were at Ayscoughfee.”

Sarah Clay at Ayscoughfee Cafe was full of praise for Ralph’s brother Reggie.

“The big hero here is Reggie,” she said. “If he hadn’t have shown there was something wrong we wouldn’t have got to Ralph in time

“He was so brave and is a little hero.”

There have been calls to make the pond at Ayscoughfee safer.

A South Holland District Council spokesman said: “The canal is a popular feature in Ayscoughfee Gardens and thankfully incidents such as this are incredibly rare. It is particularly enjoyed by young visitors looking for ducks and fish and, as with all areas of water, it is important that children are aware of their potential danger and are closely supervised at all times when exploring.”