By Ashley Pemberton via SWNS
A dog walker says he’s lucky to be alive after being recused by a lifeboat crew after being cut off by incoming tides – and swept out to sea.
Carl Holden, 33, was forced to tread water after being swept out from the coast in Fleetwood, Lancs., before being saved by RNLI volunteers.
Dramatic video of the daring rescue mission shows Carl holding his uncle’s dog Ringo above the water as a lifeboat crew approaches him.
They pull him overboard and tell him to leave Ringo in the water as “he’ll be a better swimmer than any of us.”
Once safely inside the lifeboat – and reunited with Ringo – a shaken Carl tells the crew: “I just thought I was dead.”
Carl, from Fleetwood, had been walking along the beach for around 15 minutes on Tuesday, July 23, when the tied cut him off.
Knowing he was in trouble, he called 999 and asked for the coastguard.
But within minutes, the water was up to his waist and he started to panic.
He said: “Ringo was swimming and I didn’t know how long he could last.
“The water kept rising and was soon up to my neck. I thought ‘this is it, I’m going to die today – I’m going to experience drowning’.”
Carl said the water was coming over his face as he tried to swim back, but kept getting pushed out.
He removed his t shirt and fleece as they were weighing him down in the water.
He added: “I tried to save my energy as much as possible by floating on my back. All I kept saying was ‘I’m sorry Ringo’.
“I kept trying to lift Ringo up to give him a bit of a break while trying to swim back, by the time the lifeboat came I think I’d been swimming for seven minutes or so.
“As the lifeboat came closer I managed to tip-toe and just find a bit of sand underneath me, so I started waving my hands in the air and shouting for help.
“I was exhausted at this point and all my energy was spent on trying to keep myself afloat.
“It was the biggest relief of my life seeing that lifeboat.
“I’m so thankful to the volunteer crew who came and saved us, without them we wouldn’t be here today sharing our story.”
Carl and Ringo were checked over by a paramedic and handed in to the care of the ambulance service.
Daryl Randles, who was at the helm of the lifeboat, said it would have been a different outcome had Carl not raised the alarm when he did.
He added: “It just goes to show why we always recommend carrying a means of calling for help with you, and if you find yourself in trouble call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.
“Carl also did the right thing by floating on his back, which is exactly what the RNLI advises.”
“If you get into trouble in the water, float to Live; tilt your head back with ears submerged and try to relax and control your breathing.
“Use your hands to help you stay afloat and then call for help or swim to safety if you can.
