He's my hero!

"If it wasn't for him I wouldn't have my daughter," said Beverley Parsons, mother of Alexandria Holsburt who was plucked from the bottom of Newport Centre's pool by Martin O'Keefe.

Alex, who cannot swim, had been on her first long-awaited trip to the pool with her best friend and an adult family friend when she got into difficulties at 1pm last Saturday.

When Mr O'Keefe, who only learnt to swim 18 months ago, spotted her lying motionless at the bottom of the pool, he dived down, lifted her to the surface and dragged her to the edge.

She was lifted out by a lifeguard and after coughing up water she was rushed by ambulance to the city's Royal Gwent Hospital.

Her mother, who lives with Alex on Ludlow Close in Lliswerry, joined her there.

"She was all white and shaking," she tearfully recalled. "She said she was just pulled her and she could not hold onto the steps."

Alex was kept in overnight for observation, with her mother by her side.

Her father, security guard Jason Holsburt, praised the actions of Mr O'Keefe.

"I just want to thank him for what he's done for us," he said.

Mr O'Keefe, 47, a panel beater for BN Gibbs, said he was delighted to see Alex looking so well.

"I can't believe how different you look," Mr O'Keefe, of Mill Heath, Newport, told her, during an emotional reunion.

Alex has now recovered from her ordeal, although her mother says she is scared of water.

"I have to make sure there are loads of bubbles in there, or she won't go in the bath," she said.

Alex, a pupil at St Patrick's Primary School, hopes to return there on Monday after a check-up with the doctor.

In a statement issued earlier this week Newport Council said: "The professional action of the staff at Newport Centre and assistance from a member if the public certainly saved this young girl's life.

"Regular training for all lifeguards at the centre clearly pays off, and the teamwork ensured the young girl's recovery was as swift as it could be."

The Health and Safety Executive is investigating.