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Sports reporter Andy Tilley (pictured left) spent his 30th birthday making front page news for his paper when he helped save a teenager from drowning.

Andy, who works for the Burton Mail, was walking beside the River Trent in the town when he spotted two boys in trouble after their rowing boat capsized.

Local rowing club members Paul Leader (18) and Carl Johnson (15) were on a training session in freezing weather when Paul fainted and the boat overturned.

Carl held his unconscious friend’s head above water and clung to the boat.

Andy waded waist deep into the water to help pull Paul to safety. He was joined in the rescue by a couple walking their dog.

The teenagers were taken to hospital but were released after treatment for the effects of the cold.

Andy described today how he ran to fetch a lifebelt from the riverbank.

“The man who had been walking a dog threw the ring to the boat and I held the end of the line,” he said.

“We began to haul Paul in, but he was too weak to climb out of the river because the silt was sucking him down.

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