Boys who helped save man who got into trouble in the sea at Holyhead praised for their actions

Archie Rossington and Charlie McCoy had their photograph taken outside RNLI Holyhead Lifeboat Station today (Tuesday, March 16).

The boys helped crew members to save a man on the afternoon of Monday, March 15.

The man had fallen from his bike in the Holyhead Marina area; he banged his head on the ground before falling into the water.

He was clinging onto a pontoon and struggling to stay afloat.

Archie and Charlie, aged 12 and 13, who were nearby on their bikes, witnessed the incident. Using "great initiative and common sense", one stayed with the man, while the other ran to the lifeboat station to get help.

Archie Rossington and Charlie McCoy - The Holyhead heroes! Picture: RNLI Holyhead Lifeboat Station

A spokesperson from RNLI Holyhead Lifeboat Station said: "As luck would have it, two of our volunteers, Holly and Mark, were busy tending to our Garden of Remembrance, which is outside the station, and Holly heard a cry for help from the boy.

"The boy led them straight to the casualty, who was struggling to hang on. Grabbing a nearby life ring, our volunteers managed to place it around the man and haul him out of the water. The two boys were asked to further assist by calling an ambulance, which they did immediately."

"While waiting for the ambulance, another of our crew, Jay, who is a Holy Island ambulance first responder, was contacted, and he attended the scene with a colleague.

"The man was treated at the scene for hypothermia and later taken to hospital by ambulance for further checks."

The boys came to the station following a huge response to the incident on Facebook.

Tony Price, coxswain, said the two boys had undoubtedly helped save the man’s life.

"These two boys are a fantastic credit to Holyhead," he said.

"Young people often get a bad press, but this incident shows how they have listened to the safety messages we give out, used their wits and acted very quickly. They knew not to put themselves at risk by trying to pull him out themselves, and instead to go and get help.

"It was an absolutely first-class response from them both, and the crew and myself are so proud of their efforts today.’

"We all wish the man a full and speedy recovery from his ordeal today, and thanks also to the first responders, rapid response paramedic and the ambulance crew for their assistance."

A post on the Facebook site today (Tuesday, March 16) read: "After the huge response to our post yesterday about the two Holyhead boys helping to save a man's life near our station, it was lovely to see them again today in less dramatic circumstances.

"Archie Rossington and Charlie McCoy had their photos taken at the scene and outside the lifeboat station, and received a big well done and thank you from our coxswain Tony and crew.

"They did exactly the right thing getting help and were calm throughout the whole incident."

"Future crew in the making, we reckon."