Surfer Neil Futton was waiting in the water for the next wave to ride and, looking around, noticed a bodyboard floating in the water.

He paddled over and found a man who had stopped breathing. He started to attempt resuscitation there and then, while waving to attract the attention of the lifeguards on shore.

Robin Howell, both a Perranporth Surf LifesavingClub and RNLI lifeguard, happened to be passing after his rescue boat exam and spotted Neil. He launched the inshore rescue boat with fellow club member Gary Perry.

They pulled the man onboard and continued the resuscitation effort until he showed signs of life. Once back on shore, the duty RNLI lifeguard team and two local doctors continued treatment. The air ambulance arrived within five minutes of being scrambled and took the bodyboarder, Paul Marchant, to the Royal Cornwall Hospital, Treliske. He was treated in the intensive care unit and made a full recovery.

Greg Spray, RNLI Area Lifeguard Manager forCarrick, was on the beach at the time and praised the actions of all those involved in the rescue and underlined the casualty's good fortune: This was a great example of teamwork between Perranporth Surf LifesavingClub and the RNLI lifeguard team who reacted very quickly and professionally.

They used their first aid training to best effect and ensured the casualty had excellent care and attention. This was an incredibly close call for Paul and my hearty congratulations go to all those involved from the local community, including Robin and Gary, Cornwall Air Ambulance who were on the scene so quickly, members of the Surf LifesavingClub who were being examined at the time and cleared an area for the helicopter to land, the doctors and of course, Neil, who spotted the casualty in the first place and did the right thing.

'Despite their constant vigilance, lifeguards can't see everything, especially when there are many people in the sea, and so they also rely on other water users to alert them to problems.

This incident highlights the need for beach and sea users to be aware of others in and around the water and to pay attention to safety signs and flags, keeping within the lifeguarded area, where they have the best chance of being spotted if they do get into trouble.'.