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GROUP of teenagers, including a girl from Wickhambrook, watched in horror as a friend plunged 20 feet down a steep gorge during a holiday trip in the Welsh mountains.

The party of former King’ school, Ely, pupils were walking along the River Mawddach in Northern Vales when the accident took place.

One of the party decided to walk across a fallen tree trunk spanning the gorge, but just a few feet from the other side slipped and fell 20 feet into the water.

Without hesitating, Robbie Ayers, who organised the trip, jumped in after him and with the help of Rosie McArthy, of Whittlesford, Will Byamcook, of Madingley, and Toby Hodgson, of Ely, managed to lift him out of the water.

“He had obviously hit his head on the rocks as he fell and was unconscious,” said Robbie, who lives in Ely.

Robbie began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and eventually helped his friend to begin breathing again for himself.

Another of the friends, Laura Parker, of Wickhambrook, ran three quarters of a mile to the nearest house to alert the emergency services.

The group, which also included Old Eleans Fiona Dick, of Sutton, and Helen Fetto, of Stowmarket, kept talking to their friend until he was airlifted to hospital with fractures to both arms.

Chris King, owner of the bunkhouse at Ffridd Farmhouse, near Harlech, where the group stayed, said they should all be congratulated for their quick thinking.

“They called on their outdoor pursuits training which, from what I have been told, saved their friend’s life.” he said.

One of the team which helped to build the bunkhouse, which is regularly used by King’s as a base for outdoor pursuits training, was Robbie’s father, Jon, a former bursar at the school until his death from cancer in March this year.

“Jon would have been very proud of his son and the whole group,” said Mr King.