A PRIMARY school teacher has told how she helped save the life of a boy who plunged into an icy lake.

Jamie Guiheen, aged eight, was playing with friends on a steep bank beside the lake in Silksworth, Sunderland, when he tumbled on to the ice, on Wednesday afternoon. The ice broke and he slipped into the freezing cold water.

His frantic friends screamed for help as they saw their pal thrashing helplessly in the water before falling unconscious.

Their cries alerted Janette Williams, 37, who was walking her dog nearby after finishing work early because of a teacher training day.

Janette, who works at Acre Rigg Junior School, at Peterlee, County Durham, tried to reach Jamie, but failed as he slipped under the ice.

She managed to alert passer-by Jeremy Grice who waded through the ice to pull Jamie to safety.

Janette, of Silksworth, who trained as a nurse ten years ago, said: "Jamie had stopped breathing and his face and lips were blue. His eyes were wide open, but were fixed and there was no reaction at all.

"I gave him mouth-to-mouth and massaged his heart, while Jeremy checked for a pulse and phoned 999 on his mobile to ask the ambulance operator what to do.

"I kept breathing into him and I could see his cheeks were rosy and his lips were a normal colour.

"The police arrived and a policeman held Jamie to his chest to warm him up, and then he started to cry.

"When he was in the ambulance he was screaming, so that's when we knew he was all right. It was such a relief."

Jeremy, a machine operator, of Plains Farm, Sunderland, said: "I was chest deep in water when I reached the boy.

"I headed for the gap in the ice and just prayed that I would see some sign of him.

"My foot connected with something and I knew it must be him. I hooked my leg underneath and pulled him up far enough to grab him with my hands.

"I am glad Jamie is going to be all right, it must be a nightmare to be trapped under ice and unable to get free."

Jamie, a Farringdon Junior School pupil, was recovering from hypothermia in Sunderland Royal Hospital, where parents Michael and Deborah, brother Jake, seven, and sister Shannon, four, were at his bedside.

Michael, also of Plains Farm, said: "I will never be able to find the words to thank the people who saved him enough.

"They did an absolutely fantastic job and they are both heroes in my eyes."

Inspector John Parish, of Sunderland Police, said: "This is a timely reminder to kids not to play on or near frozen ponds and lakes because they put their own lives and other people's lives in danger.