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Police  have commended the actions of five 11 and 12 year-old boys from the North Edinburgh area, after they saved a woman’s life.

The incident occurred on Sunday, September 20, at around 4.30pm when a woman entered very cold waters at Gypsy Brae and started to swim out towards Fife.

The five boys (Wacka Ceesay (11), Andrew Bell (11), Tyler Jay Anderson (12), Aleks Czernecki (12) and Kian McGee (11)) tried to talk her out of doing so.  When this was not successful, one of the young boy’s raised the alarm with an adult and requested that the Coastguard to be called.

Police and Coastguard arrived and the woman was rescued from the water.  The boys identified the area where the woman was and provided footage of the woman entering the water as evidence.

The woman was taken for treatment and is currently recovering from her ordeal.

The boys were very helpful to police and they were taken for a tour of Drylaw Police Station as a reward. Officers then took them home and praised them in front of their parents.

The boys told police that they knew what to do due to what they learned at The Risk Factory, a Police Scotland sponsored interactive safety centre. The Edinburgh based initiative is sponsored by local authorities and emergency services in the Lothians area and is available to all local children in Primary 7.

Police Sergeant John Brock said:  “This incident could have quite easily had a tragic ending.  Due to the swift and conscientious actions of these boys a woman’s life was saved. Police Scotland commends them for their bravery and quick thinking.

“It is also notable that they learned these skills through their attendance at The Risk Factory, an initiative purposely designed to equip young people with the ability to use their initiative in crucial situations.”

“Thank you to these five boys for demonstrating outstanding community spirit.”

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John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.