A rowing coach came to the rescue to save an eight-year-old’s beloved bike after he had a seizure and cycled into a river.

Bonyad Mokri was cycling along the River Thames in the afternoon of Sunday, April 12, when he had a minor seizure and lost control.

His mother, Azaleh Mokri, of West Molesey, said: "It was a lovely day and we were just cycling and I was telling him to keep away from the river as the water was quite high. We just got outside the Walton Rowing Club, we could see him losing control, and he just dived and went down the side into the water."

Bonyad, who goes to St Albans Catholic Primary School, East Molesey, went under the surface but fortunately was fished out almost immediately by his mum. He was quickly bundled home to get dried off and recover, with his bike left behind in the river.

Once he had got over the fall Bonyad became very worried about his adored bicycle. Mrs Mokri said: "He doesn't get things like that very often so it was given to him by a friend."

She suggested going to back to river to see if they could locate and rescue the bike, and they went to the rowing club to ask if anyone could help.

Adam Shire, a coach at the club, got back into his rowing gear and managed to find and pull out Bonyad's bike, earning himself a bottle of wine from the thankful parents of a very happy young boy.

Mrs Mokri said: "He was so excited and of course young boys don't hug, so he shook hands."

The encounter has since inspired Bonyad to get into rowing when he is old enough, and he hopes to have Mr Shire as his coach.