Former lifeguard rescued teenager from Ullswater lake

Ullswater is the second largest lake in the Lake District

A man has spoken about the moment he saved a teenager from drowning in the Lake District.

Yanek Kowal pulled the man, 18, to safety from Ullswater on Thursday, but was unable to rescue a 21-year-old man whose body was later found by divers.

The pair had got into difficulty swimming out to a pontoon off the lake's east shore.

Former lifeguard Mr Kowal, who was on holiday from Hereford, said the rescue "happened so quickly".

The 65-year-old had been fishing on a pier at Howtown Bay when he spotted the men at about 17:00 BST.

"I'd already seen two or three people swimming out to a pontoon, Mr Kowal told BBC Cumbria. "The next two lads went in and they looked very weak.

"I went as quick as I could and ran down to the beach. From there I tried to implement the rescue."

'Panicking'

Mr Kowal said the men were about 160ft (50m) from the shore.

"It doesn't matter how well you've trained or how long you've been doing it," he said.

"When the situation arises it's quite a shock. I could see they were trying to keep afloat.

"One was submerging and he went down very quickly, the other was starting to submerge.

"It happened so quickly. It was unbelievable. The rescue wasn't easy at all."

A woman also swam out in a bid to help but was pulled under the water by the "panicking" teenager, Mr Kowal said.

After separating the pair, he got them back to shore where emergency services had arrived.

The older man's body was recovered about six hours later by specialist emergency service divers.