A Ludlow swimming teacher has re-lived the moment when he became a have-a-go hero and tried to save the life of a drowning holidaymaker.
Will Worthington, from Burwarton, spoke to the Journal about the drama that happened last June 24, when he paddled out on his surfboard in an attempt to save swimmer Deryn Telfer.
Last week an inquest at Milford Haven found that Mr Telfer, from Gelli, Rhondda, died from drowning. Will Worthington was on the beach at Tenby with his family when he spotted Mr Telfer drinking with his friends.
He was surprised to see Mr Telfer go into the sea and try to swim out 150 metres to a buoy.
Will, who teaches swimming at Ludlow’s South Shropshire Leisure Centre, said: “I was all dressed for surfing in my wet suit but the sea was too rough. No-one else was in the water, so when I saw someone go in I thought I’d watch him to see how he got on.”
Will said as soon as he saw the swimmer get into difficulty he went over to his friends, who said they had already called a lifeboat. “They said, ‘he can’t swim.’ But I wasn’t going to go into the water unless the lifeboat had been called.”
Leaving his family, including his two-year-old daughter, on the beach, Will decided to do what he could to help. “I paddled out on my surfboard but couldn’t find anyone.
“Then the lifeboat came over, and eventually the offshore lifeboat and a Sea King helicopter arrived.
“I asked the lifeboat crew whether they thought they would find the man, but they said it had taken four weeks to find one man.”
Mr Telfer’s body was found on July 8.
Will then returned to the beach and said it was strange that holiday fun activities just continued as normal. “It was eerie. Everyone was still playing on the beach as if nothing had happened, but out in the sea someone had just died.”
