A dad has told of the horrifying moment he found his four-year-old daughter lying unconscious at the bottom of the family’s indoor swimming pool.

Company director Ian Thomas jumped in and pulled little Jacinta’s lifeless body from the water and frantically began trying to revive her.

Within minutes paramedics and the Kent Air Ambulance medical team were on the scene in Pilgrims Lane, Whitstable, and battling to save her life.

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But it was an agonising 24 hours before medics were confident Jacinta was going to pull through and had not suffered any brain damage.

Today, Mr Thomas, 39, who runs a Canterbury-based IT recruitment company, met and thanked the team of medics for saving his daughter’s life and is urging people to support the county’s charity-funded air ambulance.

Video: Ian and Jacinta thank the Kent Air Ambulance.

He said the near-tragedy was caused by a “moment’s lapse” in awareness and a set of circumstances which, he says, caught him out.

The businessman, who lives with partner Angela and their five children, recalled: “I was in the pool house with Jacinta watching her playing in the water and she was wearing a buoyancy vest.

“She wanted her 14-year-old sister Candice to join her in the pool and got out and went back into the main house. At that moment I got a call on my mobile and stepped outside to get better reception.

“I was on the phone for about five minutes during which, unknown to me, Jacinta had come back into the pool house on her own and was no longer wearing her life jacket.

“I went back into the main house and when I realised she wasn’t there, I dashed back to the pool and was horrified to see her body lying on the bottom.

"I jumped straight in and pulled her out. She was completely lifeless and her lips were blue..." - Ian Thomas

“I jumped straight in and pulled her out. She was completely lifeless and her lips were blue.

“I carried her into the house and started trying to resuscitate her while Angela called the ambulance.

“Neither of us have any first aid training, but somehow we managed to draw on things we have seen on television and read. Jacinta started breathing, albeit very shallowly and had a weak pulse.”

Mr Thomas said paramedics were at the house within a few minutes of the 999 call and an air ambulance team landed in a nearby field shortly after.

“They took over and worked on her for quite a while before taking her to the William Harvey Hospital,” he said.

“I travelled in an ambulance to Ashford while Angela stayed at home with the children, including Lakinzi, who was just four months old at the time.

“At the hospital, there must have been a team of around 10 doctors and nurses working on her and I heard her cry out, which I thought was a good sign.

“But apparently she was not out of the woods and it must have been 24 hours before medics were confident she was going to be all right. Even then she spent a further week in hospital.

“Now she is completely back to her lively self. I cannot describe how that feels because it so nearly ended in tragedy.”

"I know it was my fault and I still have flashbacks about it... It was a moment’s lapse, but that’s all it takes..." - Ian Thomas

“I know it was my fault and I still have flashbacks about it. We are usually so careful with the pool, which is always kept locked when we are not around. It was a moment’s lapse, but that’s all it takes.”

Wife Angela added: “We so nearly lost her and when Ian pulled her out, we feared she may have already been dead.

“It was a terrible experience that we will never forget. We don’t know how long Jacinta had been under water and it makes me shudder thinking of her sinking and wanting us to help her.

“Thankfully, she has made a complete recovery, although she did miss the first week of school at Joy Lane Primary.

“She used to enjoy bathtimes but is now frightened by water on her face and in her ears. We hope the memory of what happened will fade as she gets older and she gets her confidence in the water back because learning to swim is a very important lifeskill.”

Ian is now appealing for people to support the Kent Air Ambulance.

He said: “You never know when you are going to need them. It may be in different circumstances to us, but they are regularly saving lives and it is a wonderful service for the county.

“We also realised how important it is to have some first aid and life saving knowledge, which we have now been learning.”

This morning, Ian, Angela and Jacinta went to the Kent Air Ambulance headquarters in Marden to meet the crew which helped saved her life.

Click here for more information and to support the air ambulance.

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