Porthcawl: Dad who almost drowned at sea meets rescuers

An angler who was knocked unconscious after being swept out to sea has relived the terrifying moments before he passed out.

Mike Hall slipped while he was fishing in the Ogmore Estuary, near Porthcawl, Bridgend county, in October 2019.

The dad-of two was saved by passers-by who dragged him to shore and began CPR before the RNLI took over.

More than four years later, he has been reunited with the people who saved him that day.

After he was pulled from the waves Mr Hall, from Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, was rushed to the Princess of Wales Hospital, in Bridgend.

He was put into a coma, but after 10 days in hospital and two months off work, he made a full recovery.

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He admitted he did not think he would see another Christmas and said he remembered nothing of what happened.

"I remember fishing, I remember wading out and I remember feeling a little uneasy as the waves were starting to get deeper around my feet," he added.

"Literally within seconds the water had doubled in depth and I realised I was in trouble.

"The next thing I knew I was on my hands and knees trying to crawl back up the beach. At that moment my waders filled up with water and I was being swept out to sea.

"At that stage I remember seeing a lady in the car park and waving to her to try and get her attention, and at that point the waves came over me and that is the last thing I remember."

Ailsa was enjoying a sandwich in her car when she saw Mr Hall fall in the water

Ailsa, from Bridgend, was enjoying a sandwich in her car when she saw Mr Hall fall over.

The 28-year-old said: "There was one point where he did not get up again and he suddenly went very still."

She said the moment she realised he was in trouble was "quite surreal".

"His arms were flailing and he was getting more and more distressed," Ailsa said.

"There is something in your brain which clicks into action and you don't really think, you just do.

"I just thought, 'I do not want this man to die today'."

Ailsa recalled throwing her sandwich over her shoulder and jumping from the car.

As she ran down the slipway Mr Hall was swept further out.

"The waves were quite high and I did at one point think 'am I going to be OK in this?'" Ailsa said.

RNLI volunteer Angharad Masson feared the worst because of how long he was under water

On reaching Mr Hall she said she believed he was dead.

"I remember taking one look at him and thinking 'It's too late for him, he's passed away'."

RNLI volunteers feared the worst because of how long he was under water.

One of them, Angharad Masson, a Princess of Wales Hospital nurse from Porthcawl, performed CPR on Mr Hall.

She said: "My initial thought was 'I do not know what we are going to do here'.

"We had the best of the equipment that we had, which was an oxygen cylinder and us being trained to do CPR. So we just gave it our best shot.

"Then, thankfully, he came around."

Mike Hall was dragged from the waves by a passer-by who believed he was dead

The next thing Mr Hall knew it was four days later and he was in Bridgend's Princess of Wales Hospital.

He said he is still suffering some residual trauma.

"I was off work longer than I anticipated, and I was getting flashbacks for some time, and I occasionally still do," Mr Hall said.

He said it was "great" to meet his rescuers and thank them in person - but added: "Thank you just does not seem to be enough."

Ms Masson called seeing Mr Hall again "amazing".

She said: "To go full circle and see him and his wife today is something that will last for a long, long time."

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