IN A daring rescue, a determined teenager clung on to a young child who was being swept away by an icy Hampshire river.

That was nearly half a century ago and since then Tony Wharton, pictured above, has often wondered what became of the youngster he rescued from Bartley River in Totton.

Now Mr Wharton from Ashurst in the New Forest, is hoping to track down either the young boy or the adult who helped him.

Tony was just 13 years old in 1957 when he took his dog, Tojo, for a walk along the river on a midwinter's day.

It had been raining heavily over the past week and the river was swollen, muddy and flowing swiftly.

As they approached it, Tony saw a group of children playing on some steel girders across the river.

Two of them got a fright when they saw the dog approaching and fell into the river. One managed to scramble out but the other was swept downstream screaming and shouting for help.

Mr Wharton, 61, said: "Unable to swim I panicked but something told me to cross over on the girders and follow the stream. I prayed to God for help and as I followed the boy I saw a bend in the river with a tree growing out over the water."

He climbed the tree and managed to grab the youngster as he drifted past and held on to him until an adult arrived to help him.

"His face was badly swollen and he looked awful," Tony said.

"A man then took the boy out of my hands and walked him home to Spicer's Way in Hounsdown and that was the last I saw of him. When I got home my mother shouted at me for getting my clothes all muddy.

"I have often wondered what happened to that boy and want to find out how he is doing now. He could only have been seven or eight that winter," he said

"We moved away from the area and I never went back to find out."

The young boy should now be aged about 55 years old.

If you are him, or know of him, call Craig Mowat at the Daily Echo on 023 8042 4760.