A police officer has described the dramatic moment he saved the life of a drowning man after finding him face down and unresponsive in the water at a Southend beach.
Essex Police PC Tom Windeatt had just returned to a police base opposite Jubilee Beach when a teenager rushed inside and told him that his friend was drowning.
PC Windeatt immediately ran to the beach, where he found the man face down and unresponsive in the shallows.
After helping to pull him further up the beach, the officer discovered the casualty was not breathing and immediately began performing CPR.
‘All of a sudden, he started to cough up water’
PC Windeatt said: “I’d been doing it for around two minutes and then all of a sudden, he started to cough up water, we got a light pulse and then he started breathing.”
Paramedics and coastguards subsequently arrived at the scene and the man was taken to Southend Hospital.
He spent two days in intensive care following the incident.
PC Windeatt later visited the man in hospital, where doctors told him the patient was expected to make a full recovery.
The officer has remained in contact with the man’s family, and Essex Police said he continues to make good progress.
Officer’s actions praised as ‘exceptional’
Southend District Commander Chief Inspector Jane Childs praised PC Windeatt for his response to the emergency.
She described his actions as “exceptional” and commended the officer for showing “extraordinary professionalism, courage and compassion”.
