Lifeguards ‘in awe’ after 10-year-old boy survives hour stranded at sea using tips learnt from TV

Youngster found lying on back with arms and legs outstretched as TV documentary recommends

A 10-year-old boy has been praised by lifeboat crews after he survived for more than an hour swept out at sea by using techniques he learnt from TV.

The youngster fell into the water at Scarborough, in North Yorkshire, on Friday just after 7pm at the town’s spa but was carried out across the bay by the waves.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) were called shortly afterwards but did not find the child until he had been in the water for over an hour.

He was eventually located floating in the sea near the Vincent pier, on the other side of the town’s main bay.

The lifeboat crew discovered him floating on his back, arms and legs spread out, shouting for help.

These are the exact actions recommended by the RNLI if anyone is swept out to sea and left the crew in “awe” of his quick-thinking.

“We were told he’d been watching lifeboat rescues on the BBC documentary Saving Lives at Sea and had followed the advice given on the show,” said Lee Marton, the coxswain at Scarborough lifeboat station.

“We’re very much in awe of this incredible lad, who managed to remain calm and follow safety advice to the letter in terrifying and stressful circumstances – had he not, the outcome might have been very different,” he told the BBC.

After he was reunited with his family at the lifeboat station, the boy was taken to hospital for a precautionary medical check-up.