Leeds security guard saved life of man who fell in river

Danny Kesler was on duty at Asda House when he saw the man fall in the River Aire

A security guard who saved the life of a man when he fell into a river has been praised by firefighters.

Danny Kesler was on duty at Asda's headquarters in Leeds early on Sunday morning when he saw the man fall into the River Aire.

Mr Kesler ran from his desk to the riverbank and threw a length of cable he had found for the man to hold on to.

Firefighters rescued the young man and watch manager Lee Burrows said Mr Kesler was the "hero of the hour".

Mr Kesler noticed the man as he walked near the back of the Asda House on Great Wilson Street at about 01:30 GMT.

"Just out of nowhere he lost his balance and fell into the water, so I quickly just ran outside and did what anyone else would do," he said.

Mr Kesler phoned the fire service while the man was clutching the cable he had thrown into the water for him.

Firefighters said the stricken man was "hanging on by his fingertips in the freezing water" when they arrived.

Danny Kesler was working as a security guard at the Asda headquarters in Leeds when he saw the man fall into the river

"The man was conscious and breathing throughout but very cold and borderline hypothermic," said Mr Burrows from West Yorkshire Fire Service.

"I firmly believe that Danny played a huge part in saving the life of this man, and things could have been very different if he hadn't seen him fall in as there was no-one else around at that time of the morning."

He said Mr Kesler was "very modest about his efforts, but he really was the hero of the hour".

Mr Kesler thanked the firefighters for their quick response and said he was "really pleased" that the man was making a good recovery.