AN Andover councillor risked his life to rescue a 13-year-old boy just seconds away from drowning in a swollen river.

Alan Smith, a former police officer who now works for the Environment Agency, had gone to measure the water flow in the River Wallington in Fareham when he came across the youngster.

"It was the classic situation of a boy desperately clinging on to a small overhanging branch over a very fast-flowing river," said Mr Smith, who represents Winton ward on Test Valley Borough Council.

The river is normally two feet deep. But because of the storms, on Monday afternoon it had become a raging torrent - flowing 40 times faster than usual and up to six feet deep in places.

Ignoring his own safety Mr Smith waded into the stream and pulled the boy to the river bank.

"I waded in and when I reached the boy the water was up to my waist," he said.

The boy, Jim Hutchins, of Fareham, was one of three who had ventured onto the river in a small inflatable dinghy. But the boat overturned and while two of the boys had managed to scramble to safety on the riverbank, Jim had been forced to cling to the branch in the middle of the river.

"Had he lost his grip he could have been swept away and drowned," said Mr Smith.

"It was an absolutely crazy idea to go onto the river in a dinghy.

"If you work around rivers you expect to find something like this occasionally."

Jim said: "I really thought I was going to die. "I was so scared when he asked me to take hold of his hand because I had to let go of the tree.

"But I would really like to say thank you to him for saving my life."

In the wake of the incident the Environment Agency has issued a warning that river banks will be slippery and rivers swollen and very dangerous for days to come.