A martial arts expert dubbed the 'Stockport Spider-Man' has been hailed a "proper hero" after rescuing a terrified four-year-old boy from the top of a 50ft fairground slide.
Jason Baird, of Reddish, was on a day out with his partner and two children when he spotted the tearful youngster stranded on the 'helter skelter' slide. The lad had slid only a short way down when he had second thoughts and tried to climb back up just as other children were beginning to follow him down, leaving him teetering on the edge some 50ft in the air.
Seeing the boy in distress, the 'Stockport Spider-Man' ran up and scooped the sobbing child into his arms and slid back down to safety. Jason, 36, told the Manchester Evening News : "His mum was getting irate and saying 'my little boy is up there and he's going to fall'. "The guy who was running it was walking up the stairs but there was a queue of kids.
"I left my lad and ran up the slide and got to the top. When I got to him he was crying his eyes out. He must have been about four years of age. I picked him up and turned him around and said 'weee, here we go'. I tried to make it fun for him. I was met at the bottom by his mum.
"It was just a spur of the moment thing. Anybody would have done the same. God forbid, another 20 or 30 seconds and he could have gone over because there were other kids sliding down and he would have fallen."
Quick-thinking Jason, who shot to fame during the first lockdown, has been praised for his rescue at the Geronimo family festival at Arley Hall, Cheshire, on Sunday. Nik Louise wrote on Facebook: "Proper hero, amazing".
Elizabeth Ann Parker added: "What a legend and a great role model for kids" and another commented: "What a legend once again. well done Jason."
Jason replied: "Thank you for all the comments everyone. As I said to the M.E.N anyone would of done the same. Just glad the little lad didn't come to any harm and he was returned safely to his mother."
He shot to national prominence for his community spirit during the first national lockdown when he and his friend Andrew Baldock started to dress up as Spider-Man when they went on their daily runs, providing some much-needed cheer to families and especially children cooped up in their homes. Jason's efforts were praised by the Duchess of Cambridge and he even had a Christmas from Prime Minister Boris Johnson thanking him for his selflessness.
When the M.E.N. learned of his latest effort, we called Jason but he played down his heroics: "Honestly, anybody would have done what I did yesterday."
This time not wearing his Spider-Man costume, he was with his partner and their two children when the drama happened. He was pushing his three-year-old son in a pram when he noticed a boy in distress at the top of the 'helter skelter' slide, where kids slide down on a mat.
A photograph of Jason in the air midway through a somersault has been chosen as one of 100 final portraits for the Duchess of Cambridge's 'Hold Still' project - a book of images creating a combined snapshot of the UK in lockdown. Kate Middleton is a patron of the National Portrait Gallery.
The project invited people of all ages to submit a photo taken during a six-week period in May and June 2020 which focused on one of three core themes - 'helpers and heroes', the 'new normal' and 'acts of kindness'.
Jason and Andrew's simple idea quickly proved popular. Families across Stockport posted requests for Spider-Man to visit in their windows. The duchess even called Jason to thank him personally and praised his 'wonderful, positive image of community spirit'.
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