PC and daughters honoured for saving drowning man

A police officer and his family have been honoured after saving a man from drowning in the sea.

West Mercia PC Shaun Lyle and his daughters Macey, 19, and Poppy, 16, from Telford, Shropshire, were swimming near Treyarnon Bay in Cornwall last August when they saw a man in distress.

Upon realising the man, in his 70s, was struggling in the water, they helped get him back to safety on the shore and have now been recognised by the Royal Humane Society (RHS).

"His face was just like a ghost and he just said 'thank you for saving my life, I thought I was going to drown'," Shaun Lyle said.

All three have received certificates of commendation from the RHS, commending their efforts in saving the man's life.

Shaun Lyle said his family had been visiting the "picturesque" area, which has steep cliffs and a long sandy beach, as it was one of their favourite places.

He said they were bodyboarding in an area beyond the shoreline waves when they spotted a man and two other women in difficulty, after they were caught in a rip current.

"His head started to disappear into the water and I made eye contact with him and I could only describe it as absolute fear in his eyes," the constable said.

"[The man] was gasping for breath and shouting out loudly 'I'm drowning, i'm drowning'.

"At which point he disappeared under the water."

The group swam over to help and handed the man a bodyboard to try and keep him afloat.

"[He] grabbed the bodyboard and he had an initial gasp of breath and we thought he was going to be OK at that point," Shaun Lyle said.

"But in an act of desperation... he grabbed hold of Macey and started pushing her under the water."

He said the group worked together to help the man and managed to manoeuvre themselves out of the water, getting everyone safely back to shore.

People had a "collective responsibility" to look out for themselves and others in the water, he added.

"You do just kick in and you do the right thing," Shaun Lyle added.

"They are the light of my life to be fair, my daughters... and to see them respond without hesitation to help someone who was in absolute distress was just the most proud moment that a dad could have."

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