A schoolboy almost drowned after jumping into an ice-filled creek in order to rescue a friend who had fallen in.

The boy, a teenager whose exact age and name were not given, jumped into the frozen water in Severna Park, Maryland, USA, on 26th December when he realised his friend was getting into difficulties after falling into the water.

But after helping his pal to successfully escape the water, the rescuer then realised that he was trapped and unable to get out of the water himself in the Magothy River-Cattail Creek area.

Fortunately, the boy was wearing a safety vest, and when police turned up on the scene, they were able to throw him a rope, which they then used to pull him to safety on a jetty.

Anne Arundel County Police Department said that their officers originally had a report that two youngsters had fallen in the water, and only realised when they arrived that one of them had deliberately jumped in to save his friend.

As he was pulled to safety, one of the officers could be heard saying: “That was a brave effort you did there.”

The boy was taken to hospital by ambulance for a check-up and was later given the all-clear, and allowed to go home.