A father brought his toddler daughter back to life after she drowned in a holiday park's swimming pool.

Neave Jackson sneaked past her parents and jumped into the water without her armbands on.

By the time her frantic mother Sariah had found her and scooped her out of the water, the three-year-old was limp, blue and had stopped breathing.

Sariah raised the alarm and paramedics were called but the remote holiday spot in Norfolk is 15 minutes' drive from the ambulance station.

Mark clutched his tiny daughter and, using skills learnt on a first aid course six years ago, tried to resuscitate her with the kiss of life.

Within minutes, the colour returned to her face and she was breathing before the 999 crews arrived to whisk her to hospital.

Mrs Jackson said: "The paramedics told us if Mark hadn't done what he did, she wouldn't have made it.

"When we first got her out of the pool she was, to all intents and purposes, dead."

The couple believe Neave had sneaked into the pool during a 30-second gap when they were tending to other children.

Mrs Jackson said: "She's very mischievous. All through theholiday she'd been trying to get past us without her water-wings and somehow she managed it. It was extremely frightening.

"For the first few minutes we both thought she was dead.

"Luckily Mark managed to keep his calm while everyone else around him lost their heads."

Neave had to spend two days in hospital but has now recovered and is back at home in Hartfield Road, Forest Row.

The mother-of-three said: "She's virtually oblivious to everything that happened. It hasn't scared her off going swimming again or taking a bath as we thought it might."

Mr Jackson said he had been given the first aid course when he was a site agent for a construction firm.

He said: "First aid is a life skill and I feel everyone should take the time to learn it, starting from a young age in schools.

"It isn't difficult and it made such a huge difference to me. Neave is here to prove it."

St John Ambulance Sussex is urging people to take part in one of its four-hour Lifesaver Baby and Child courses. The next is at East Park, Crawley, on September 27.

Public relations officer Ann Baker said: "Mark gained confidence as a result of attending one of our First Aid At Work training courses.

"We encourage other parents, grandparents, childminders and carers of young children to learn essential life-saving skills."

To book a place or get a training brochure, call the St John Ambulance Sussex training department on 01903 231407.