THE modest hero who saved a young boy from drowning described his actions as “just part of the job”.

Lee Sturgeon, 38, pulled the ten-year-old from the water into the safety of his speedboat after a member of the public alerted him to the emergency.

Mr Sturgeon, a pier and foreshore supervisor for Southend Council who prides himself on remaining calm in a crisis, was off duty on his own speedboat Shockwave running commercial trips when the drama unfolded last Thursday.

The young boy, who has autism, was about 150metres from the shore near the pier.

Mr Sturgeon of Arnold Avenue, Southend, said: “I was returning the boat to the jetty by Pebbles cafe when a guy came running down saying he had spotted a little boy on his own in trouble.

“The lad was a fair way off, generally people don’t swim that far out, so I unloaded my passengers and me and the guy who had seen him went straight back out.

“The boy looked like he was paddling to keep afloat and was clothed with his shoes on still.

“His parents later told me he had autism so he maybe didn’t understand the danger he was in.”

The dad-of-four hauled the youngster aboard and took him back to the jetty where he was met by his parents who were on the beach and called ahead for the coastguard and paramedics to meet the boat. The boy was taken to Southend Hospital to be checked over.

Both the coastguard and RNLI praised Mr Sturgeon for his actions, but he was impressed with the man who alerted him to the incident.

He said: “He did really well to spot him, and it was quite quick thinking to come and grab me.

“The parents were pleased to see the boy back and thanked me but it’s part of my job with the council and in my role as a skipper.

“I was just keen for him to be checked over, as drownings can happen even after someone has gone home and seems fine because of fluid on the lungs “I’m used to keeping a keen view on everything going on on the seafront, it’s part of my job.”