A heroic couple saved a stranger's baby after their pushchair plunged into a canal and disappeared beneath the water.
Lisa and Barry Peck were out walking their dogs and on their way back home when the terrifying incident unfolded last Tuesday night.
The couple said they do not usually walk at that time but happened to head out to enjoy the warm evening and were chatting to a passer-by when Lisa spotted the pushchair fall into the water.
The 53-year-old, from Aylestone, jumped into Leicester’s Grand Union Canal along with the baby of the mother, Leicestershire Live reported .
She said that "it all happened so quickly," and the baby, strapped into the pushchair, “disappeared under the water” within seconds.
She added: "Initially we didn't know if there was a baby in the pushchair because the woman was also with a little girl, about two years old, so I thought maybe it was hers.
"She started screaming 'my baby' and jumped in and I just jumped in after her.
"I can swim, but I'm not exactly the strongest swimmer around. I couldn't feel the bottom of the water and that's when I felt panicked.
"We've got kids of our own and I know how awful that must have been for the mum."
Meanwhile, Barry, 54, attempted to help pull the pushchair from the water as Lisa and the woman, who was not known to the couple, "fought" to keep it above the surface.
He said: "It was absolutely horrifying - as the pram came up I could see the baby still strapped into it under the water.
“My wife was amazing and it all turned out okay."
Barry - who Lisa described as her "rock" - added that a number of people came running from nearby Bede Park to help.
"It was incredible - people from all walks of life ran over to help," he said.
East Midlands Ambulance Service was called, and the crews arrived within minutes, Barry said. The mother and baby were subsequently taken to hospital.
Lisa, who said she is still feeling shocked from the incident, said she and her husband called the hospital yesterday evening, explaining what had happened and who they were to make sure the baby was okay.
The couple - who have just been accepted to become foster carers - said they were "relieved" to hear both mother and baby were fine.
Barry and Lisa did not get a chance to speak to the mother but said she thanked them before she was driven away in the ambulance.
A spokesperson for EMAS said: "We received a call at 6.00pm on 26 April to the Grand Union Canal. The caller reported a medical emergency.
"We sent a paramedic in a fast response car and two crewed ambulances. Two patients were taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary via crewed ambulance."
