A PUB manager from Suffolk was hailed a hero last night after he helped save the life of an unconscious boy at the bottom of a swimming pool.Richard Coldron had only just arrived at his holiday resort when he dived into action and plucked a seven-year-old tourist from the pool.

A PUB manager from Suffolk was hailed a hero last night after he helped save the life of an unconscious boy at the bottom of a swimming pool.

Richard Coldron had only just arrived at his holiday resort when he dived into action and plucked a seven-year-old tourist from the pool.

The boy was rushed to hospital where he was given treatment for two days before continuing his break in Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria.

Mr Coldron, bar manager of the Old Millars, Felixstowe, returned to work yesterday after the holiday drama but he modestly shrugged off compliments paid by bar staff.

The 44-year-old, of Sea Road, Felixstowe, had arrived in the Canary Islands for a 10-day holiday with his family after flying in from Gatwick.

They had arrived at lunchtime and went down to the holiday complex pool for a first dip in the water and sunbathing.

''We sat there having a drink and then a mother by the pool started screaming and there was a little boy at the bottom.

''So I jumped in and got him out. He was blue, he was not breathing and he was flat on the bottom of the pool.

''The paramedics came and he was rushed off to hospital where he spent two days. It was his family's first day as well,'' said Mr Coldron.

He said he reacted on the spur of the moment and he did what anyone else would have done in the same situation.

However, his staff were quick to praise the popular bar manager and they said the boy could have died without his intervention.

Chloe Edwards, the 20-year-old second chef, said: ''His family said that the woman was screaming by the pool and people stood up but they were watching and not doing anything.

''Richard took everything out of his pockets and just dived in. His wife Elaine said the way he dived in she thought it was her six-year-old daughter who was in trouble but it was somebody else's child. He's a modest chap.''