Shelby Quigley jumped into the River Wyre in Lancashire to try to save 15-year-old Lotus Bowker from drowning — the teen's courage has now been recognised with a rarely awarded honour17:25, 19 Jul 2026A teenager has received a bravery award after she risked her own life to save a drowning boy.‌Shelby Quigley jumped into the river after seeing 15-year-old Lotus Bowker disappear below the surface. Shelby, 14, removed her heavy clothing and walking boots, plunged into the River Wyre and managed to drag the boy to the surface against strong currents.‌She held him above the water despite being repeatedly submerged herself, until a man entered the river and helped drag the boy to the bank, where attempts were made to resuscitate him. The boy was taken to the hospital, where he tragically passed away the following day.‌But Shelby, who was participating in a Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Expedition at the time, was praised for her courage and selflessness at the time and now the youngster, of Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, has been given a rare honour.Shelby has been recognised with the Royal Humane Society Silver Medal - a rarely awarded honour for exceptional courage in saving, or attempting to save, a life. Andrew Chapman, Secretary of the Royal Humane Society, praised the girl's actions and said she gave the boy the best possible chance of survival, Lancs Live reported.‌"What she did was truly incredible for one so young," he said. "Sadly the boy died in hospital later but without doubt Shelby gave him the best possible chance of survival. Few people would have persisted in the way she did when they were so close to drowning themselves."Somehow though she stayed calm and showed incredible bravery. Very few people are awarded our silver medals but she richly deserves it. She was a true heroine."An inquest carried out after Lotus' death heard that the teen went into the River Wyre near Garstang Cricket Club with three friends on May 17, 2025, despite being told not to by his parents, as he could not swim properly and was only able to doggy paddle.‌Lotus, from Kirkham, Lancashire, had a Developmental Learning Disorder, which meant he had some communication issues and "didn't know risk", but he tried to deal with the condition by "copying his peers," and his mum, Andromeda, also said he was "easily led".The coroner said that Shelby took care not to jump to avoid cold water shock and swam over to where Lotus was. "She managed to hold him at the top of the water but she was really struggling and she had to let him go," the coroner said.‌Neil Quinn was walking past with his family when he saw Shelby attempting to save Lotus. He managed to get Lotus to the bank after he had been under the water for around eight minutes. The two then started CPR.Off-duty anaesthetist Steve Wiggans, who works at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals, also happened to be passing. He used equipment from a police officer's first aid kit to remove vomit from Lotus's stomach and airway. The boy was first taken to the Royal Preston Hospital and had a spontaneous return of circulation prior to arriving.He had been in cardiac arrest for 28 minutes. He was also severely hypothermic with a core body temperature of just 30.6C. Lotus was then transferred to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital. In the early hours of Sunday, May 18, he suffered two more cardiac arrests, and doctors advised his parents that he would continue to worsen and had likely suffered a severe brain injury due to a lack of oxygen.Article continues belowHe suffered a third cardiac arrest at 5.25am and was pronounced dead at 5.35am. The cause of death was recorded as drowning, with the Developmental Learning Disorder listed as a contributory factor.