Daventry teen saves man in dramatic paddle board rescue
A Daventry teenager saved a man who had got into difficulty trying to rescue his own children paddle boarding off the Cornwall coast.
The drama unfolded on Marazion beach, east of Penzance in Cornwall, on Friday (July 24), when the coastguard was called at about 1.40pm to a paddle board in difficulty with two children on board.
The children had been caught out by an offshore wind and they were drifting away from land.
The father of the children made a valiant effort to reach them but had become exhausted and struggled in the water.
Fortunately other paddle boarders were present and one, Vincent McNevin, 19, from Daventry, spotted the signs and quickly assisted the man on to his board.
As the lifeboat arrived, Vincent informed them that he was in control of the situation and would take the man ashore while the lifeboat recovered the children.
Vincent had received water support training at the registered charity Parkswim Daventry Country Park where his mother Becky is a lifeguard.
Becky said: “The man was fortunate because if Vincent had not been present the situation could have been more severe.
“He was exhausted and struggling in the water.”
The RNLI has thanked Vincent for his heroic efforts and is encouraging other young people to obtain training for their water sports.