A man is trying to track down the stranger who saved his life 54 years ago when he was drowning in the Finsbury Park boating pond.

Roy Walker was just two when he fell into the water and was rescued by a teenage boy who dived in after him.

Now, aged 56, he has decided to try and track the hero down so he can thank him properly.

“I remember it clearly,” he told the Gazette.

“I fell in and floated on the top because of my nappy.

“I vividly remember splashing my hands and then I started to go down.

“I was going down just looking about, it was all new to me.

“Then – and I can still picture him now – this fella dived in and grabbed me and dragged me out.

“I was screaming and surrounded by lots of people making themselves busy. My mother was in a right state.

“All I can remember is walking home down Seven Sisters Road and her drumming it into me that I must not tell my daddy.”

Roy believes his rescuer was 15 or 16 and had short blond hair. He remembers the lad was wearing a shirt and jeans.

The reason he has finally decided to search for the man is rooted in an argument he had with his partner.

“My missus has been going on about it for years,” Roy explained.

“She watches that Long Lost Families and we had an in-depth discussion last Sunday because I was giving my opinion.

“She said: ‘Isn’t there anyone you’d like to meet?’

“I said: ‘The only bloke I’d like to meet is that one from Finsbury Park.’

“None of us are getting any younger and this bloke might still be alive.

“If he’s not, then people who were there might remember it.

“It’s a long shot, but when something plays on your mind for so many years it’s worth a go.”

He added: “I’ve never been back to the pond, I moved to Enfield and then Hertfordshire when I was four. I’ve been back to Finsbury Park once to see Madness years ago.”

Are you the man who saved Roy’s life? Do you know him or have any information? Contact the Gazette on 020 7433 0104.