RNLI lifeguard saves young boy’s life at Porthtowan beach

A group of young children, aged around five years old, were body boarding when they quickly began to drift outside of the flagged zone and out to sea.

Jamie was on patrol near the water’s edge alongside a fellow lifeguard when he spotted the children in difficulty. The situation quickly escalated and Jamie grabbed the rescue board and paddled out to retrieve the children.

Whilst Jamie was getting a boy from his body board on to his rescue board, a big wave rolled in and pulled the boy under water.

Jamie said: ‘If I hadn’t had been there I honestly couldn’t have seen the story having a happy ending. It was a big wave and a lot of water for a little boy to fight against.

'The sea can be very unpredictable which ofen leads to people getting into trouble. We would encourage parents or guardians to keep kids close to them and generally keep an eye on them while they are in the water.'

The RNLI’s Respect the Water campaign is running throughout the summer. To find out more about the dangers of the coast and how to stay safe, visit www.rnli.org/respectthewater or search #RespectTheWater on social media.

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The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

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