A FIREFIGHTER performed a super-human feat of strength and bravery to rescue a young girl from the bottom of a water-filled quarry, an inquest heard today.

Selby fireman Andrew Jakeman, 32, plunged into the murky waters of the so-called Blue Lagoon at Womersley, near Whitley Bridge, where seven-year-old Cherrie Greenwood had been trapped under water for 40 minutes in her mother's car which had rolled into the former limestone quarry.

Cherrie died three days later in Leeds General Infirmary.

Mr Jakeman, of Fernlea Close, Selby, told the Wakefield inquest that when he arrived at the scene on a hot sunny afternoon last August, he saw air bubbles coming to the surface of the lagoon about 25 feet away from the bank.

He donned breathing apparatus even though it was not designed for underwater use.

Carrying a limestone boulder under one arm to weigh him down so he could walk along the bottom of the lagoon, and a winch cable in his other hand, Mr Jakeman eventually bumped into the VW Golf which was upside down on its roof.

Mr Jakeman told the inquest: "I had to hold my breath while I was working and then exhaled. I was groping around because visibility was virtually nil.

"I let go of the boulder and grabbed hold of one of the car wheels before attaching the winch cable to the car.

"I managed to pluck up the courage to go inside the car and started to feel around when I came into contact with Cherrie."

Mr Jakeman then brought the unconscious girl to the surface where he handed her over to another fire officer.

The inquest heard that Cherrie's mother, Stephanie Greenwood, 22, of Low Ackworth, near Pontefract, was forced to watch helplessly as her daughter disappeared beneath the surface of the water.

Miss Greenwood had parked her VW Golf on a grassy bank about 20 feet from the water's edge.

She said they decided to go to the other side of the lagoon and started to manoeuvre the car. She allowed her close friend, Sarah Taylor, a learner driver, to get behind the wheel because it was private land.

Miss Taylor put the car into reverse, but the engine started revving loudly and the car went faster and faster backwards towards the lagoon.

Miss Greenwood said she shouted at Sarah to hit the brakes and she grabbed the handbrake and put it on, but the car was skidding and it didn't make any difference.

She said her daughter was in the back seat but Cherrie told her she could not get into the front.

Miss Greenwood said she managed to open her door and there was an in-rush of water. The car started to sink and she became hysterical. She tried to go back into the water but someone stopped her.

Her close friend Miss Taylor told the inquest she was taking driving lessons and was a provisional licence holder.

She said that for some reason the car would not stop despite pressing the brake pedal. It was going faster all the time and rolling backwards towards the water.

Miss Taylor said she managed to open her door but as soon as she got out of the car, it went out of sight. Everything was dark and she remembered floating to the surface holding her breath.

Cherrie's stepfather, Roy Olbison, 22, said he dived five or six times into the water, which was about 15 feet deep, dark and cloudy.

Other people were also diving down but without success.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Wakefield Coroner David Hinchliffe commended the valiant efforts of Mr Jakeman.

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