Two quick-thinking youngsters averted a potential tragedy when they came to their friend’s rescue.
Nine-year-old Liam McPake was enjoying a spring weekend when he suddenly found himself hanging from a tree by his neck after his jumper became tangled in branches but, as he began to choke, his playmates sprang into action.
Marcus Cosgrove, 10, grabbed Liam’s legs to support him, while nine-year-old Andrew Stewart clambered up the tree and ripped his friend free.
Liam’s lucky escape happened near his home in Liff.
“He was out playing with his friends.
“There are a lot of kids up here and they go out to play all the time,” said Liam’s mum, Leigh Feeney, 36.
“They were in some woods near the house, and Liam jumped out of a tree the first I knew was when Andrew came running up to the door.
“My daughter answered, and I heard him saying ‘I need your mum, quickly’. By the time I got outside, Liam was coming along the road crying.
“He said ‘I’m really sorry about my top’ that’s all he was worried about. I said ‘you can get another top you can’t get another life’.”
Leigh discovered the details of the shocking few seconds from her son’s friends.
“He didn’t even scream for help, because he was choking,” she said.
“My daughter was very upset. I was shaking. I couldn’t stop looking at his neck. He went back out to play afterwards, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”
Despite bearing marks where the material burned his neck, Liam, a pupil at Liff Primary, was soon back at football camp.
Along with her relief that Liam’s friends were on hand, Leigh, a healthcare practitioner with NHS Tayside, hoped his experience would serve as a warning to other youngsters, saying: “Kids don’t think about things like that, but now they’ve seen what’s happened to Liam then hopefully they’ll think twice.”
Liam’s grandmother Pat Kerrigan added: “When he jumped his hood got caught and he was left hanging. If it hadn’t been for the quick thinking of his two pals, he wouldn’t be here today.
“I think kids should be made aware of the danger of climbing trees.”