A holiday maker who was saved after falling in the Kennet & Avon Canal has said if it wasn't for her quick-thinking hero then she wouldn't have survived.

Non swimmer Irene Teggin, 70, of Coppenhall, near Crewe, was on a barge holiday with her husband Russ on March 5 when she fell into the canal in Bradford on Avon after trying to push the boat away from the bank.

"We had stopped just after lock 171, past Sainsburys, and we got banked on one of the sides of the canal. A man called Colin tried helping us push the boat off and then I fell in, I can't swim, I was fully concious of what was happening. Colin jumped in and dragged me out. If I had gone under the boat I would've died, it is thanks to him that I am here to live another day," said Mrs Teggin.

"I just really want to say thank you to Colin as it is thanks to him that I am still alive and I am now home safe and sound."

Mr and Mrs Teggin, who have been boating since 1989, knew very little about the mystery hero until their daughter Helly took to social media to try and find her mother's saviour. After the post was shared around the local pages Spotted in Trowbridge and Spotted in Bradford on Avon, Colin Seal responded, telling Miss Teggin it was him that helped her mother.

Mr Seal, 63, of Bradford on Avon, said: "She went under and I kind of stood there for what felt ten minutes, it was probably only a couple of seconds, then I jumped in and dragged her up. I expected her to just kind of get out but she didn't so I didn't even really think about jumping in after. It was quite a shock really, the whole of the next day I was quite emotional. You don't really expect something like that to happen everyday. It would've been absolutely horrible if she had died, she was very grateful for me saving her life.

"One of the only people I really told was Jay from The Barge Inn, she saw it on Facebook and then told me. I got on my bike and went down the canal to try and see if Irene was okay after but she had already gone. When we went on the radio I had the chance to speak to her, it was really nice to hear she was okay."

Miss Teggin, Irene's daughter, has thanked Mr Seal for all of his help, saying she would like to see Colin in person to say thank you for saving her mum.

Miss Teggin, 41, of Upton, Chester, said: “Myself and Rob, my boyfriend, cannot thank him enough for saving my Mum's life. We also have two little folk Maisie, 6, and Tom, 9, who adore their Nan and are looking forward to visiting Sunday to make sure she's recovered and probably bombard her with questions as to why she would go on a barge not being able to swim. Rob and I hope to go with mum and dad one day to their barge and would love the bump into Colin and thank him in person."