Conwy schoolboy saves sister's life on family holiday in Spain after recent lesson from RNLI

Harvey, five, learned the lifesaving skills days before his family travelled to Majorca on holiday. Credit: RNLI Llandudno/Media Wales

A five-year-old boy saved his sister’s life with skills he learned just days before their family jetted off on holiday

Harvey Taylor, from Old Colwyn in Conwy, north Wales, was in Majorca, Spain, with his family and raised the alarm after his sister got into difficulty in the water.

Elliemay, eight, and Harvey were playing in a pool when the frightening incident happened.

Her brother knew exactly what to do as he had been told by an RNLI expert who visited his school just days previously. Their mum Zoe explained how Elliemay got out of her depth after falling through the rubber ring she was in and started to panic.

She said: "[Elliemay] was in real trouble and in serious danger of drowning. I honestly think without the lesson [Harvey] had he wouldn’t have even realised what was happening.

"He was shouting loudly and raising the alarm, managing to attract attention and Elliemay was safe.”

Zoe said at first she did not realise that her son had known how to react due to the RNLI’s school visit.

She added: “Harvey was so shaken up, but later on started to tell us all about the visit to school and I know this is what saved my daughter."

The RNLI volunteer who had visited Harvey and his classmates at school was Myfanwy Jones, from the Llandudno Lifeboat Station. Credit: RNLI Llandudno/Media Wales

Following the incident, the volunteer who taught Harvey and his classmates the lifesaving skills returned to the school to present him with a special certificate to congratulate him.

Myfanwy Jones, from the Llandudno Lifeboat Station said: “Hearing Harvey’s story is incredibly heart-warming.

“Despite his young age, he was able to put all he’d learnt into practice and rather than panic, he did exactly the right thing in calling for help.

“We hope as the holidays approach, his story will reach other families and urge them to take safety seriously should they be visiting the coast, or any open water this summer.”

The RNLI are warning about a likely rise in the number of people getting into difficulty in water in the coming weeks and what to do if you see someone in trouble.

Chris Cousens, water safety lead at the RNLI, said: “Now the weather is warming up we expect to see a big increase in visitors to Welsh coastline unfortunately this does mean there is likely to be an increase in the number of incidents in the sea.

"Many of the incidents our lifeguards attend during the school holidays involve children and teenagers and we would urge everyone to be aware of the risks and know what to do in an emergency.

"We would encourage people to visit a lifeguarded beach and swim between the red and yellow flags.

"RNLI lifeguards will be patrolling around 245 beaches this summer to offer advice on how to stay safe and they are also there to help anyone who gets into trouble.

"We want people to think about their own safety, take time to familiarise yourself with our advice and to share this with your friends and family.”

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