A heroic Totnes teenager who dived into the River Dart to save a stricken man’s life has received a special police award.

William Cleasby, 17, rescued the homeless man from drowning after he fell into the river drunk.

Due to the man’s intoxicated state and the fast-moving current, his condition was declining rapidly, and William, who is a trained junior lifeguard, realised he had to act quickly.

He dived into the water and swam out to the man, believed to be in his 50s, attached a rope to him and brought him back to the jetty, where he could be pulled from the water.

Devon and Cornwall Police rewarded William’s heroic actions by presenting him with an award for outstanding selflessness at a special ceremony held in the Livermead Cliff Hotel in Torquay.

In his citation, Chief Superintendent Keith Perkin, the commander for policing in South Devon, praised William, saying: “The male was hospitalised due to the effects of cold water immersion, and paramedics stated that William’s actions prevented the deterioration of the male’s medical condition and averted a loss of life.”

William’s dad Nick said both he and mum Georgina were “chuffed to bits” with their son’s award.

“We went with him to the presentation ceremony – it was a proud parents moment,” said Nick. “For Will to have a certificate that will go with him for life in his record of achievement, saying he saved some guy’s life and was nominated for the award by the chief commander, is fantastic.

“The word hero is bandied about quite a bit – I am a bit biased and I think he certainly did a great job.”

Modest William, a member of Dart Totnes Rowing Club, said he had not given much thought to his rescue and was surprised to receive a police award.

“It really put into perspective what I’d done and gave me a good sense of achievement, knowing I’d done something good for a person,” he said.

Describing the events of his rescue one early evening in July, William, of Lower Netherton, near Newton Abbot, said he was at the rowing club when he was alerted to the homeless man’s predicament.

“Someone called me to help because they knew I was a lifeguard,” he said. “The man was in the water with a life-ring around him that people ashore had thrown him. He couldn’t get out of the water. He was too drunk and not responding to any commands.

“I jumped in and attached a rope to the life-ring and pulled him in through the water. I was trying to get him to kick, but I don’t think he really understood. He was a bit of a dead weight.

“When we got to the ladder, I had to get him up it because he was obviously drunk.

“He managed to get up the first few steps because they were in the water, but he couldn’t support his weight, so I got him up the next few and then, with another guy who was ashore, we grabbed him under the arms and hauled him up.

“That was one of the hardest parts – he was heavy, a bit of a dead weight.

“We took his top off because it was all wet and got him into the [rowing club] clubhouse and covered him with as many layers as possible.

“He was in the cold water for up to 10 minutes and had a bit of hypothermia.

“I kept talking to him to keep him responsive.

“It’s important to reassure people in this situation, to keep a response going between you and them.”

When he received the police letter outlining his award, William was puzzled as to what it was for.

“After I’d rescued the man I didn’t really think anything of it; then I got a letter saying I was getting an award for saving a man’s life.

“It was my dad who remembered what I’d done.”