'He was the best dad in the world' Tributes to hero father who died trying to save daughter from river
A father from Walsall has been hailed a hero after drowning while trying to save his young daughter who got into difficulty in a river while on a family trip in Cumbria.
Dean Price, aged 32, was dragged underwater by currents while attempting to rescue seven-year-old daughter Delilah from the River Esk in Longtown. While his daughter survived thanks to an off-duty firefighter, Mr Price disappeared, only to be be tragically found in the early hours of the next day following an eight-hour search by emergency services.
Yesterday, Kelly Price, wife of 11 years to Mr Price, who lived in Willenhall Lane near Bloxwich, said: "He was a number one dad.
"He was the best dad in the world. He was a hero and he saved his child. He always put me and the children first. He was a number one husband.
"He was a committed Christian and loved the Lord Jesus.
"We go to church in Willenhall. We were on holiday when he died."
Mrs Price, who is staying with relatives, in Great Wyrley, Staffordshire, said Delilah was now 'okay' after the ordeal.
They had been staying at Hadrian's Camp near Carlisle, when the accident happened.
The youngster was saved by part-time firefighter Geoff Maxwell, who heard the family screaming for help, while working on a house nearby.
He saw the little girl's head bob up in the water and dived in towards her.
Mr Maxwell said: "It was sheer luck that I touched her under the water.
"I grabbed her hair and managed to swim to the side but it was a hell of a struggle."
He said he quickly realised that the river was too deep for him to touch the bottom and push upwards.
"I turned round and swam back to the place where I had jumped in, when I should have gone with the current. I'm a terrible swimmer.
"I can't believe I found the energy. The mother was on the ledge about five yards away holding out her hand and I swam and swam. I don't know how I made it."
He explained how Delilah grabbed him round the neck, leaving his arms free to swim to the side.
He said: "If she hadn't done that, I think we would have both drowned. She definitely would have drowned if I had not saved her because the woman could not swim. I could not have lived with myself if I hadn't tried - I knew there was no hope for the man. I didn't see him at all."
Longtown resident Kayleigh Hadwin, 21, said: "I saw the dad and the daughter in the water.
"I heard them screaming for help and I thought at first they were joking. I realised they weren't when I looked at the child's face and I just started running.
"As I was running towards them I saw the dad and daughter get sucked under and come back, and get sucked under again. Geoff got there before me and dived in."
Floral tributes were left at the scene in tribute to Mr Price, whose funeral will be held next week.
He is the second person from Walsall to die after getting in difficulties in water in the past week.
On Saturday, grandfather Richard Guest, 74, was found in the sea after he helped to rescue two teenage girls off the beach at Tywyn in north-west Wales.
