TWO quick-thinking brothers helped rescue their grandmother after she fell into a water-filled ditch - breaking her neck in two places.

Max and Connal Berry were walking with their grandmother close to their home in High Pittington, near Durham City, when they failed to see the hidden nine-foot deep ditch overgrown with grass.

The 65-year-old lady, who has asked not to be identified, fell with nine-year-old Max - and it was soon apparent to the pair that she was seriously hurt.

The Northern Echo: Connal [right] and Max Berry, who helped to rescue their grandmother when she she fell in a nine-feet ditch on Wednesday

Connal [right] and Max Berry, who helped to rescue their grandmother when she she fell in a nine-feet ditch on Wednesday

As Max remained by his stricken grandmother, talking to her as she drifted in and out of consciousness, eight-year-old Connal ran almost a mile to raise the alarm at the nearest farmhouse.

There were fears she could have suffered hypothermia had she remained in the water much longer.

Their dad Simon Berry, an optometrist in Durham, said: “For Max to stay so calm and for Connal to have the presence of mind to go running for help I think is amazing. I think a lot of kids at that age would just panic.

“There were dogs in the farm yard and Connal is quite scared of them but he ran past them to call for help. I’m immensely proud of them.”

Fire crews from Peterlee and Wheatley Hill raced to the scene in the Littletown area shortly after 10am last Wednesday and lifted the pair to safety before the pensioner was taken to the University Hospital of North Durham's accident and emergency department.

There she was diagnosed with two broken vertebrae in her neck and was was transferred to Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary, where she underwent an emergency six-hour surgery.

She is now making a good recovery and is expected to be transferred back to the Durham hospital next week but will have to wear a neck brace for up to ten weeks as she recovers.

Mr Berry added: "I can’t believe how well she is doing now. When they came and told us she had broken her neck it was a relief because it looked very, very serious.

"Mam was drifting in and out for a while and when my brother arrived he said the water was black with blood. Because she was in the water for so long they were struggling to get her core temperature up as well."

Connal, a pupil at Pittington Primary School, and Max, who attends Durham Trinity School, have now been invited to spend a day with firefighters at the station in Durham as a reward for their quick thinking actions and for staying calm under pressure.

Peter Maddison, Durham station manager, said: “It’s a great message to get out to young kids about how to cope in an emergency. We’ll be looking at giving them a VIP day at the station to make sure they get some recognition.

“Their actions very definitely helped her and will help her recovery. If she had been there any longer who knows what injuries she could have had along with hypothermia."