Father haunted by tragedy risks life to save drowning boy

A DAD-of-four said he did "what any righted-minded person would do" when he paddled out to sea to save a boy from drowning.

- By ANDREW FORGRAVE

The 53-year-old's bravery was partly motivated by personal tragedy, having lost his two brothers in a terrible drowning accident more than three decades earlier.

He sprang into action after the alarm was raised on Llandudno's West Shore beach on July 13. Beachgoers held their breath as they watched him gather up the boy, who was left flailing in the water after his dinghy was blown offshore into the Conwy estuary.

"I think he would have drowned if I hadn't reached him," he said. "Possibly his dad too - he was trying to swim out to him."

On social media, onlookers claimed the boy had been screaming for help for some time. When the alarm was raised on the beach, an off-duty lifeguard joined the boy's father in trying to swim 200 yards to his rescue.

Asking not to be named, mindful of his family tragedy, the Llandudno man immediately realised the emerging danger. "There was a good chance not all three of them would come back," he said.

"I know what I did was silly. My sons, aged 10 and 21, were on the beach watching me - what if there hadn't been a happy ending? You can never tell with the sea. But my mum and dad lost two sons at sea and I've seen the impact this can have on a family.

"I had a wet-suit on, I had access to a paddleboard, so I simply couldn't sit there and do nothing."

On the day, a strong offshore breeze offered some relief to sunbathers crowded onto the beach during this month's heatwave. The Llandudno dad had reluctantly been out on the water with his son, returning just as the distress calls began.

"My son had nagged me for a good hour-an-half to take him out with his inflatable paddleboard," he said. "I wasn't keen, seeing the off shore wind, but I was careful, returning before the tide began to go out.