Pictured: Hero grandad, 68, who died while saving granddaughter after she got into difficulty at sea
A grandfather has been hailed as a hero for trying to save a little girl at sea before fatally going into cardiac arrest.
Listen to this article
Phil Crow, 68, was at Tregirls Beach in Padstow, Cornwall when he rushed his granddaughter to safety as she got into difficulty in the water.
He was among 15 members of the public who had been trying to save the little girl after trouble struck.
Tina, Phil’s wife of 50 years, was also among them and was rescued by a boat that passed by.
She said the family was playing at sea when the granddaughter got into difficulty before Phil managed to push her to safety.
“We were jumping up with the waves then all of a sudden we couldn’t hit the floor when we landed, it was deeper and was pulling us out.
“He was shouting at her to lay on her back but she couldn’t stand, he pushed her to safety, but doing so meant he couldn’t get back himself,” she told the Daily Mail.
Read more: Britain’s deadly heatwave: Seven youngsters drown as May temperatures hit record levels
Read more: Five dead including four teenagers as health authorities issue heat warning on UK's hottest May day
In a heartfelt tribute, she said Phil “died a hero”.
It comes as several teenagers and youngsters have died getting into difficulty at various beauty spots as the UK saw its hottest May days ever recorded.
Police told LBC a body was found in the search for a teenage boy who went missing after he was last seen swimming in a lake in Hampshire.
Seven youngsters have so far been confirmed dead after temperatures hit a record 35C on Tuesday following a Bank Holiday weekend of scorching heat.
The latest death was announced on Wednesday morning after a body was found in the search for a 12-year-old boy who went missing in a river in Lancashire.
The boy was last seen with friends entering the River Ribble in Ribchester at about 2pm on Tuesday.
Reco Puttock, 13, died in hospital after being pulled from the water at a popular swimming spot in Halifax at around 3.20pm on Monday.
Abbie Carmody-Pepper, 19, drowned during a day out at County Dublin beach on Sunday.
Two other boys and a 15-year-old girl lost their lives in Lincolnshire, West and South Yorkshire, as well as Warwickshire over the weekend.
Then hours later, the body of the girl was recovered from a lake at a country park in Warwickshire.
South Yorkshire Police also responded to reports that a teenager had gone into the lake at Rother Valley County Park in Rotherham.
His body was recovered in the early hours of Tuesday. Emergency services recovered his body in the early hours of this morning.
It came a day after 15-year-old Declan Sawyer drowned at Swanholme Lakes in Lincoln at around 2.30pm on Sunday.