A teenager from Falmouth followed in his grandfather's footsteps when he plunged into the harbour and saved a toddler from drowning.

James Brooks has been hailed a hero after jumping into action when the little boy fell from the wall of Church Street car park in Falmouth. The desire to help is obviously in his blood, though, as his grandfather, Gerry Gray, saved a woman from drowning in 1953 when he was about 16.

The drama in the car park unfolded when James, 19, was fishing with friends and a boy of about two was keen to look into the water. “The kid went to put his hand on the rail and missed and just went into the sea,” said James.

“His mum stood there frozen, but I didn't hesitate to go in. I thought if I go in here (where the boy fell) I am going to hurt myself and not be able to do any good so I went round the corner and went in off the steps.

“As I was coming round the corner there was a rip so I flew round the corner, but on the way back it was a struggle because I had to keep the kid's head above the water with one arm and swim with the other. I was not moving so I had to pull myself around the wall, grabbing hold of the limpets.”

Fortunately for the little boy and for James, the toddler's puffa jacket had acted as a life jacket. “It kept him afloat,” said James, who has ADHD. “I thought I was going to have to dive down to get him, but because he had the coat on he was bobbing up and down, gulping for air.”

After James had reunited the boy with his mother, they were taken away to dry off and recover from their ordeal. “He was fine, just a little shaken up,” said the teenager. To thank him for saving her child's life, the boy's mother treated James and his mother, Lynda, to a meal at Harbour Lights.

Lynda, who lives at The Beacon, said “she couldn't be prouder” of her son. “He came home and was bouncing off the walls,” she said, “he was so excited saying he had just saved a kid from drowning.

“I was not surprised because if anything happened, he would be there to jump in and help out but it's not something you expect every day. The boy was just lucky the tide wasn't out because there are rocks below there.”

James, whose dad Phil works at Falmouth Docks and who has a younger sister, Chloe, 13, is currently unemployed, but had learned life saving skills through Elemental at Swanpool. He had enjoyed a one year apprenticeship with Elemental and achieved a UKCC level one kayak coaching certificate.

Despite his heroics, however, James is fairly modest about what he did. “I was in the right place at the right time,” he said.