Bradford man saves person drowning in sea at Blackpool

Shahid Parvez, 37, a security door supervisor from Bradford, was on a family day out at Blackpool beach on Monday, July 11, when the dramatic incident unfolded.

Shahid said: "We were sat on the steps close to the water at about 9pm in evening when I heard people shouting someone has drowned.

"A man was drowning in the water and his family raised the alarm.

"I rushed to see if I could find the person with the crowd sending out directions to where he might be.

Shahid Parvez of Bradford

"I swam towards that direction. It was about 25 metres out but I managed to locate him.

"I noticed a male drowned underneath the water. He was lifeless, so I picked him up, put him on my shoulder and swam back to safety.

"When out of the water, I put him in a recovery position and performed CPR.

The moment Shahid Parvez rescued a man from the sea at Blackpool

"At first there was no sign of life, then after a few minutes I noticed some movement in his eyes, then he coughed up blood and lots of water.

"I kept talking to him and kept him in a recovery position until medical help arrived.

"The police arrived and took a statement from me to what had happened, and thanked me for my heroic actions, that ended up saving a life.

The moment Shahid Parvez rescued a man from the sea at Blackpool (Image: UGC)

"It was the scariest thing I had ever done," said Shahid. "I'm still having flashbacks about the incident.

"I guess it was just destiny that I was in the right place at the right time.

"I risked my own life but I succeeded in saving someone's life and that is an achievement in itself.

"I'm first aid trained and I've always been a strong swimmer from my school and college days.

A spokesperson for the North West Ambulance Service: “We commend Shahid’s actions in coming to the man’s aid prior to emergency services arriving.

"We also would encourage everyone to learn CPR and other first-aid skills, as you never know if you might need to provide life-saving treatment to a family member, friend or even a stranger in an emergency.”

A spokesperson for the Lancashire Constabulary said: "We were called by North West Ambulance Service at around 9.25pm on Monday, July 11, to reports a man had been pulled from the sea near to Blackpool’s Central Pier.

"Our officers attended and the man was taken to hospital as a precaution."

Shahid also said the experience has reiterated the importance that people need to be aware of the dangers of swimming in open water.

He spoke about the incident where a 50-year-old man died after getting into difficulty swimming in Ardsley Reservoir on Saturday, July 16.

"There incidents are another stark reminder of the dangers of water," he said.

The seafront at Blackpool Beach. Picture: PA Wire

Shahid's rescue preceded a number of recent incidents involving people getting into trouble in the sea at Blackpool.

Police and RNLI Blackpool were called out at 12.55am on Friday to reports of a person in the sea opposite Pleasure Beach.

Following the launch of RNLI Blackpool's inshore lifeboat, the person was located and brought back to safety by Blackpool Police.

A young girl was pulled from the sea by lifeboat crews after getting into difficulty near North Pier on Tuesday afternoon.

Police, Coastguard and RNLI volunteers launched a rescue operation after a young girl was spotted struggling in the sea near North Pier at around 2.10pm on Tuesday.

The girl was pulled out of the water by Blackpool Beach Patrol prior to their arrival.

Lifeboat crews provided medical care until paramedics arrived at the scene.

It followed a similar incident on Monday which saw two teenage boys rescued from the water near Central Pier.

Emergency services were called after the boys were spotted in difficulty in the water near Central Pier at around 5.54pm.

The boys, aged 12 and 14, were pulled from the sea by two teenage girls.

A 19-year-old Army soldier then gave CPR to the two boys.