Young Ashleigh Harvey,  a member of the St Albans City Youth Girls, Under 14’s team went on holiday with her grandparents in Lanzarote last month and came home a hero.

It was a normal hot day and Ashleigh was on a sun lounger waiting to go for her daily walk down to the village and along the beach. Everyone was enjoying themselves when all of a sudden there was a lot of commotion around the pool. Everyone looked towards the pool and there was Ashleigh diving in the deep end fully clothed.  Everyone rushed across to find that she had pulled a toddler from the bottom of the pool.

Ashleigh - centre front row

Apparently the toddler had wandered off on his own and fallen into the pool. Ashleigh had seen him fall and jumped straight into the water.    When she got to the pool the toddler was laying on the bottom of the pool.

Everyone was praising Ashleigh on her quick reactions. Shortly after Ashleigh was very shaken following the experience and for a few days was very quiet. She said when she got into the pool she thought he was dead but all she wanted to do was get him out of the water. The toddler's father was very grateful and could not stop thanking her for days after. The toddler was checked out and was fine.

Ashleigh’s grandparents call her their ‘little hero’, but she says if anyone else had seen it they would of done the same thing.

Ashleigh has been with the St Albans City Youth since the Under 10s and has been a fabulous player both on and off the field. She comes from a family very active in local football with Sandridge FC. 

Ashleigh turns up an hour early at training every week to help out the coaches with City Youth’s younger teams.

Mayors Pride Awards 2011