A LIFE-saving lock keeper who rescued a stag party from the icy clutches of the River Thames has described the moment he breathed life into an unconscious man.

Hero Richard Hawkins, who has manned Abingdon Lock for four years, was pottering about his house off-duty on April 29 when he heard cries of help outside.

The 29-year-old, who lives at the Lock House with girlfriend Lizzie Spokes, rushed to his window wide-eyed to see three men flailing in the water next to an upturned rowing boat.

He said: "Their skiff had capsized and was pinned against the poles. One of them was hanging onto it, the one shouting had made it out onto the other side of the river and the other was swimming to the edge."

It was about 6.30pm on a Friday when the group, who Richard said were city workers from London, got into trouble when heading to the Crown and Thistle Hotel where they were staying.

He threw rope to the men, who he said were in their early thirties, and hauled them out before ringing an ambulance, putting one in his shower to warm up and wrapping another in a foil blanket.

The man who had managed to heave himself out had walked round to Mr Hawkins, who described him as "blue in the face."

He said: "He collapsed and I managed to catch him on the way down. His heart had stopped and he was going into cardiac arrest. I gave him CPR and the ambulance came and used a defibrillator. They took him to the John Radcliffe hospital."

He said their boat capsized after one of their oars got caught in a tree and knocked them off-balance, leaving them to float downstream until the vessel snagged on white poles.

Incredibly he said the men didn't want that to be the "lasting memory" of the stag, and returned for their boat the next morning worse-for-wear having continued their night out without their casualty, who recovered overnight.

He rebuffed claims he was a hero, adding: "You just have to get stuck in really. It wasn't the first time it has happened and it probably won't be the last."

He estimated that he has pulled more than half a dozen people from the water in his time as lock keeper, including two in one week which he was hailed for in 2014.

Frank Jordan, who volunteers at the lock, said: "I was in admiration when he told me. If he hadn't have been there and acted it could have been very bad. He is modest about it but we are very proud of him. He is a brilliant man to work with."

Barry Russell, waterways manager at the Environment Agency, said: "Providing assistance when boaters get into trouble is part of a lock keeper’s role, and we provide procedures, training and equipment to help them do that.

"Richard showed exceptional presence of mind in this situation and dealt with it superbly. He showed his good experience as a lock and weir keeper and we’re really proud of his actions he took on the day."