Mum saves son, three, after he falls five feet into cesspit under their house

A three-year-old boy has been saved by his brave mum after he fell into a cesspit the size of a double-decker bus when a manhole collapsed.

Christine Saul, 41, bravely dived into the black pit as her son Bertie screamed in terror having fallen five feet into the opening and tried to survive by floating in 3,000 gallons of sewage.

The pair were thankfully saved by strangers who managed to rescue them in time.

Relieved mum Christine has since credited Bertie's swimming lessons with keeping him alive and has thanked his swimming teacher for "saving his life".

Christine, an executive producer for BBC's The One Show, said: "I'm normally with Bertie in swimming lessons - he's never swam on his own.

"I totally think that the swimming lessons saved his life."

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The terrifying incident happened at the family's home in Little Marlow, Bucks, on February 2 as Christine returned with Bertie and his brother Toby, 6, after school.

Bertie stepped on an aluminium manhole cover that was installed last year, which opened slightly before he slipped into the brick-walled cesspit, which hoards waste from two properties.

Christine recalled: "I had my back turned and my other son just said 'Bertie's gone'.

"All I could see was one side of the cover sticking up. Bertie was already floating on his back and shouting 'mama, mama.'"

After a frantic call to emergency services, Christine looked back and to her horror realised she couldn't see or hear her little boy.

She jumped fully-clothes into the hole, swimming through the waste to find Bertie crying in the corner.

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A passerby helped pull Bertie back to safety before a local plumber lowered a ladder into the pit to help Christine climb out.

Both were treated in hospital with antibiotics to counter any infections from being submerged in the sewage. They have since returned home.

Christine, who lives with her sons and husband Jeremy, 47, said: "I thought Bertie had died at one point. I'm feeling so grateful and thankful.

"Bertie is doing really good. He's come up in a full-body rash from head to toe but the doctors say it's probably a viral rash from a bag."

Christine added that Bertie has returned to swimming lessons - at the advice of his teacher - to avoid any scarring effects of the ordeal.

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Josie Beale, a resident who helped retrieve Bertie from the pit, recalled the tot screaming in horror.

Josie said: “I looked down the drain and saw these two faces looking up at me.

“I couldn’t comprehend what was going on, as the last thing you expect to see is a mother and a child down a drain covered in dirt.

“Bertie was screaming the whole time.

“We got him out and started taking off his soaked clothes and wrapping him in warm and dry jumpers.”

Local plumber Guy Simmonds lowered ladders from his work van into the pit to save Christine.

He said: "It was just relief that they both got out okay.

“She burst into tears when she got out because the shock obviously set in.

“It’s amazing how many people have died in similar incidents. It’s frightening really."