Man leaps into freezing lake to rescue lifeless baby only to find it's just a doll

A man leapt into a freezing lake to rescue what he thought was a lifeless baby, only to discover it was a doll.

James Dowly, 28, was driving home with his father when they spotted a figure floating face down in the water.

They pulled over next to The Mere in Ellesmere, Shropshire, and Mr Dowley leapt into the water.

After wading 20 metres through the icy mere to reach the baby, he was relieved to discover it was actually a life-sized doll.

The "rescue" was captured on camera, and pictures show Mr Dowly clutching the plastic toy, which was wearing a baby's pink-and-black-striped cardigan and white babygro.

Mr Dowly the baby looked "very lifelike" and he feared the worst.

"My father and I could not leave without confirmation of what it was or ringing the emergency services," he said. "If it was an actual baby, I just couldn't live with knowing that I'd driven straight past it."

Mr Dowly, who is the father of a ten-month-old baby girl, said "the thought of it being an actual child was horrific."

"From a distance it looked very real and we were starting to convince ourselves that it was actually a real person. It was like something out of a horror movie. I had no idea what I was going to find when I jumped in there, it was very scary."

He said the water was "absolutely freezing" and he "was in there for a good few minutes" before he reached the doll.

"I don't think that it was particularly brave, I was doing what I hoped anyone else would have done," he said.

"I did feel like a bit of an idiot, coming out of the water carrying a toy doll, but at the end of the day it's better to be safe than sorry."

SWNS