AN OFF-DUTY firefighter from Gwent is being hailed a hero - after saving a child from drowning while on holiday.

Ryan Smith (pictured), from High Street, Blaina, jumped into a hotel pool in Greece to pull the struggling eight-year-old girl from the deep end.

And modest Ryan kept the action to himself - until the child's grateful mum wrote to South Wales Chief Fire Officer Brian Fraser.

The girl's mother, who is from Manchester, praised the man who saved her daughter's life.

Ryan, aged 34, who works full-time in Caerphilly fire station and as a retained firefighter at Blaina, is embarrassed about all the fuss.

"I pull people out of fires for a living, then I pull a child out of a pool on holiday - it's all in a day's work, really."

The incident happened when Ryan was on holiday in Lindos, on the island of Rhodes, ten days ago.

He was relaxing by the pool with his wife, Joanne, and their two children, ten-year-old Alex, and Mason, seven, when his wife spotted a child struggling in the deep end.

The child's mother, who could not swim, was screaming for help, and Ryan acted immediately.

He jumped into the water, swam to the child, grabbed her and pulled her out. "She had swallowed a lot of water and was quite shocked, but she was soon fine," he said.

"She was a lovely little girl. Her mother cried all day; she offered me money, but I said, 'I do this sort of thing every day, I'm a fireman'.

"I said anyone would have done the same, but she said that they hadn't.

"I was just glad to be able to help."

Ryan added that his firefighter's training, which includes the Bronze Lifesaving Medallion, had prompted him to act swiftly.

His boss, Caerphilly Station Officer Steve Logan, said last night: "He certainly deserves to be commended for his actions. It just goes to prove that the training firefighters receive equips them to deal with situations on or off duty.

"Ryan has worked full time at Caerphilly for more than three years, and as a retained firefighter at Blaina for more than five. He has been very modest and didn't tell people - until the letter arrived with the chief fire officer."