A martial arts expert dubbed 'Stockport Spider-Man' for raising the spirits of kids during the first national lockdown has been at it again - this time rescuing a panicking boy aged four who was stuck on a fairground slide 50ft in the air.
Jason Baird, 36, from Reddish, was on a day out with his partner and two children when he spotted a youngster struggling at the top of a 'helter skelter' slide at the Geronimo family festival at Arley Hall in Cheshire on Sunday.
The lad had slid only a short way down the slide when he had second thoughts and tried to climb back up just as other children were beginning to follow him down, leaving the boy teetering on the edge some 50ft in the air. Seeing the boy in distress, Jason ran up and scooped the sobbing child into his arms and slid back down to safety.
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Jason 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.
His 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. The boy had climbed up without a mat and had started to slide down but then had second thoughts.
Describing the incident, Jason, who runs a martial arts school, said: "I was just on a day out with my family. We were waiting for a ride and we saw a little lad at the top of the helter skelter ride, standing up. He had slid down maybe five or six feet but then had stood up and started to climb back up.
"He was right on the edge maybe 50 or 60ft in the air. I don't think his parents even saw it at the time. He was scared and trying to get back up but another little girl had already set off and bumped into him. It was as if he was going to fall over the side and it was a 50 or 60ft drop over the side.
"The mother then saw what was happening and 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."
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'.
A previous version of this article included an image of a Helter-Skelter. We would like to confirm that this particular Helter-Skelter was not at the Geronimo Festival this year or involved in this incident, and we would like to apologise for this error.
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