A Northern Ireland teenager is set to be honoured at tonight's Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards after saving the lives of her father and a family friend.
Lucy Montgomery from Armagh saved the pair after they were swept away by treacherous river currents when on holiday with her family in France.
The 15-year-old has received the Teenager of Courage award after the ordeal.
Read more: Lewis Capaldi performs on Jonathan Ross Show for NI teen who saved two lives
Lucy had been paddle-boarding in the Charente river during a holiday in France in July 2021, when she noticed family friend Mathieu, aged eight, starting to drift into far deeper, more dangerous waters.
Lucy, then 14, and her father Graham, 50, who cannot swim, walked into the nearby shallows and tried to keep the lad calm. But as the flow grew stronger Mathieu was swept away.
She reacted instantly and swam out into the treacherous river and dragged Mathieu to the bank. As she was saving the boy’s life, Graham was dragged off his feet and into the deeper part of the river.
Seeing that her dad was also now in grave danger, the teenager swam to him and urged him to turn on to his back so he would float.
Graham said: “Before Lucy intervened I was thinking that I was going to drown. Then Lucy was there, she was very calm and in control.”
The youngster said there had been “no time to be scared” and added: “All I was thinking about was trying to find a way to get him to safety.”
She managed to rescue her father but then was in trouble herself. Exhausted Lucy had no energy left to swim and was being pulled into deep water.
But she spotted her paddleboard and managed to grab it. It drifted back to dry land with her on it.
Graham, a headteacher, said he had no doubt her courage and decisive actions had saved him and Mathieu from drowning.
He said: “We are very proud of Lucy, absolutely. We are shocked that our incident has got the attention that it has. She is really wonderful, and very humble.”
Lucy was recently left stunned after she was serenaded by Lewis Capaldi on the Jonathan Ross Show. She thought she had won a tour of the ITV studios and was going to take part in a documentary about inspirational people. But there was far more in store for the heroic teenager.
She was taken to set where she met Lewis, who sang his new single for her. Lewis, 26, also gave her a gold envelope revealing she had won a Daily Mirror Pride of Britain award and said: “We’ve all heard about how incredible you are, so you’ve been given this.”
Lucy, who also met TV chat show host Jonathan, could not stop smiling. She said: “I was shocked, it all happened so fast. I never expected to be nominated for any kind of award for doing what I did.
“I wasn’t expecting Lewis to come out and sing to me, I just couldn’t believe it. It was overwhelming.”
Watch the Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards tonight on ITV at 8pm.
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