West Derby dad describes rescue by kitesurfer off Welsh coast
A DAD who almost drowned when he was swept away by a lethal current described the moment a kitesurfer rescued him.
John Scott, 55, was enjoying a weekend away with his friends when he ventured into the sea on Saturday afternoon.
A powerful current swept him away from the shore on Shell Island, in Wales, along with his friends Joe Wilton, 58, and Adam Bradley, 15.
The three swimmers tried to fight against the current, but only Joe and Adam made it to the safety of a sandbank.
John, a self-employed heating engineer from West Derby, was left in the swell as his energy ebbed away.
But kitesurfer Chris Scott, from Tarleton, near Southport, sped to the rescue and plucked him from the sea.
Kitesurfer instructor Chris, 45, said: “A flare went up and I went back down the beach to look. Two lads were in the water swimming and shouting and pointing out to sea, so I set off to see what was going on.
“There was a fellow bobbing halfway out. I kept downwind so he would not grab hold of me. I said ‘hold on to this harness and I will get us both back in’.” Chris said he feared John would grab onto the board in panic, sinking them both.
John told the ECHO: “I was out of it. I had tunnel vision, it was all black.
“I would not have lasted if Chris was not there.”
John’s daughter Carys, 14, was watching from the shore.
Dad-of-two John said: “I was just thinking ‘poor Carys’. I felt so bad for her because I thought I was gone.”
Adam’s dad Kevin was also watching from the beach when he saw they had disappeared.
He said: “I could not believe how quickly it happened. My heart just fell to the ground.”
Kevin, of Bootle, called the Coastguard at 2.21pm and after they were rescued, the floor-fitter celebrated their good fortune by buying three lottery lucky dips – John’s numbers were 14 and 21.
The group are now fundraising for Southport Lifeboat.
Donate to the lifeboat at www.southport-lifeboat.co.uk
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