One of the police officers who saved the life of Gabrielle Grady’s brother Ryan was at the little girl’s funeral.

West Mercia police Inspector Sean Kent jumped into the cold, murky waters of the river Avon to rescue six-year-old Ryan after the car he was travelling in entered the water.

Inspector Kent, who is responsible for policing across Wychavon district, was helped by Sergeant Phil Stayte, from Evesham, who waded into the water to help pull Ryan to safety.

Paramedics were waiting on the bank to treat Ryan who was taken to hospital in a critical condition but later made a full recovery.

The two police officers – named for the first time yesterday – later released a statement in which they said: “We would like to firstly pay our respects to Gabby Grady and offer our condolences to her family at this tragic time.

“We recently visited Ryan and his mum Kim as we felt it important we meet them. We wanted to say how sorry we were for their loss and also see Ryan who we knew had returned home from hospital.

“Ryan is a fantastic little boy and it was wonderful to see he was making a great recovery with the support of his loving, strong family.

The officers had gone to the riverbank from Evesham police station within minutes of the 999 call.

Initially, along with other officers, they used ropes to try and reach a man and young boy who had emerged from the sunken car, which was about 12 metres from the bank. They entered the water after realising Ryan was out of reach.