'Heroic' couple dive in to save six after boat explosion

A COUPLE saved the lives of four children and two adults after a boat exploded.

- SOUTH WEST NEWS SERVICE and HOLLY MORGAN

Josh Hobbs, 35, and Hannah Lloyd-Hobbs, 34, both leapt into the water to save six people, including a baby.

They said they were in the "right place at the right time" when they saw the inferno, in what the police called "heroic bravery".

The couple, from Rhayader in Powys, were walking their dog along the River Thames near Lechlade while on holiday on the Wiltshire-Oxfordshire border last Saturday.

Josh said: "We were less than 10 minutes into our walk. We were about 100m from the river. It was an almighty bang - the kind where the air pressure around your head goes.

"Hannah initially thought it might have been something like a confetti cannon and it was for a celebration. I thought it might have been a gas barbecue or a hob. We looked around and instantly heard the screaming on the boat the kind where you know it's serious."

They sprinted to the scene to find the boat adrift and in flames, and told those on board to get off.

"They were screaming back to say they couldn't swim. We were both trying to reassure them to jump in the river because it was the better of the two outcomes," said Josh.

"I think my voice tone changed and people ended up in the water. One of them was an 18-month-old Hannah instantly dived in to grab the baby. I had my foot on the dog's lead and was screaming for the others to get off the boat.