An Essex dad says he was offered a free holiday - after saving a child's life at a hotel pool.

Charlie Uttley, 32, came to the rescue when a youngster was pulled from the water at Laguna Park in Tenerife, he says.

He gave the unnamed six-year-old - who "wasn't breathing" - mouth-to-mouth and put him in the recovery position.

Charlie, a dad-of-three from Canvey Island, learnt CPR for drowning victims through a first aid training course provided by his employer.

And he says his training has now earned him a free holiday - offered up by the resort as a thank you after the August incident.

Charlie, who now works as a terminal operative, says he was returning to his hotel room with his son when he heard a commotion coming from the pool area.

After witnessing the lifeguard dive into the water and pull the child out, he rushed over to assist.

He then performed three ‘rescue breaths’, he says - breathing into the casualty's mouth to help get oxygen into their lungs.

On the third breath the boy began to breathe on his own again.

After being moved into the recovery position and coughing up the water he had ingested, the boy’s condition began to stabilise and he was taken to hospital.

Charlie said: "I heard someone screaming for help and as I looked over I saw someone dive to the bottom of the pool.

“They pulled a six-year-old boy out who was blue in the face and wasn’t breathing.

“I ran from the bar to where the boy was to assist the lifeguard.

"I didn’t have much time to check for life but he was blue from suffocation and wasn’t breathing.

“I tilted his head back and lifted his chin up and gave three mouth-to-mouth rescue breaths – on the third he came back to life.

“I rolled him into the recovery position and he vomited loads of water up and got some colour in his face.

“An ambulance took him straight to hospital and he had to stay in overnight due to fluid on his lungs.”

Charlie says that, as a gesture of goodwill, he and his family have been invited back to Laguna Park next year, free of charge.

Charlie added: "It’s so important to have a full understanding that your child can swim.

“When you go on holiday I always suggest you assess the pool yourself.

“It can happen in seconds – all it needs is half a cup of tea in the lungs to suffocate.

“If you’ve ingested any water, it’s always important to get it checked out due to second and third-degree drowning.”

The drowning child's family were approached but declined to comment for the story, and asked not to be named.

Laguna Park was also approached for comment.