Holywell Bay rescue: Emily Greenwood saves two from rip current

Emily Greenwood saved a man and boy from drowning

A woman who saved a man and boy from drowning in cold sea conditions has been describing the ordeal.

Emily Greenwood was walking on the beach at Holywell Bay, Cornwall, with her "significantly disabled" son when she spotted the two in trouble.

The man, believed to be 39, went in the water to save the 10-year-old who got stuck in a rip current.

Ms Greenwood swam in and paddled them back safely to shore. The man was taken to hospital with suspected hypothermia.

Coastguard rescue teams were sent to the beach as well as a coastguard helicopter

The incident happened on Saturday afternoon in cold sea conditions in the bay near Newquay.

Ms Greenwood, a member of Holywell Bay Surf Life Saving Club, said initially she could see the man was also struggling in the rip current.

"I just knew that I had to get in the water to go and help them, so I stripped off to my underwear and off I went.

"I'm not a trained lifeguard but I've been a club member for 10 years and I've seen a lot."

She told BBC Radio Cornwall: "Luckily the boy was on a bodyboard and he'd kept hold of the bodyboard.

"The man at this point ... had already gone into some kind of shock. He was very quiet, he was just concentrating trying to get a hold of his breathing."

She was able to "remain calm" and help the pair paddle back into shore.

"It did become a bit scary for me because he just sort of crumbled; he just collapsed into the shallows. So we had water and waves coming in over him.

"At that point I was very lucky, a dog walker had spotted that we were in trouble and he came in and he helped us come out of the water."

The man was airlifted to the Royal Cornwall Hospital near Truro by a coastguard helicopter and the boy was unharmed.

Holywell Bay Surf Life Saving Club's chairman Steve Peck praised Ms Greenwood for her "selfless actions" which he said "undoubtedly saved two lives".