Whilst sunning myself on holiday in Spain, I had been watching an 8-year-old boy who was in the sea with armbands alone whilst his father looked after his younger sister on the beach. The boy then came out of the sea removed his armbands and went back in. Whilst I relaxed with an ice cream I noticed that the tide was coming in and then looked for the boy – he was obviously in difficulty and was going under the surface and waving his arms.

 

I urgently said to my friend “please hold this” and without another word handed him my ice-cream, removed my t-shirt and hurtled towards the sea as fast as my Dad run would allow! I plunged into the sea and dived into the water, far too shallow and grazed my one pack quite badly! I reached the boy and tried to stand but could not reach the bottom. The boy said the odd word in Spanish as I took him across the chest and towed him safely back to shore.

 

When we made the beach there was a crowd of bystanders watching. The boy sat with his father whilst he recovered. Later in the day I was thanked by the whole of the boy’s family and everyday thereafter was given the thumbs up by the San Sebastian beach lifeguards. The only down side to the whole incident was my melted Magnum Limited Edition!

 

On a serious note, it was also stark reminder how vigilant we all must be when our children are swimming in the sea.