Off-duty lifeguard saves day

Two swimmers who got into trouble were lucky an off-duty Lyall Bay lifeguard happened to be at Foxton Beach at the time.

The pair were caught in a rip and were struggling to get back to shore on Saturday after lifeguards had left for the day. The off-duty Wellington lifeguard jumped into action and helped them get safely to shore about 6.30pm.

As soon as Foxton Surf Lifesaving chairman Shaun Sayer was notified of the incident he advised lifeguards but by the time three arrived the swimmers had been rescued.

Foxton volunteer surf lifesaver Carla Whittaker was at the scene within minutes but found the Lyall Bay lifeguard had already saved the two swimmers.

‘‘He had pulled them out by the time we got there. They were OK and had not swallowed any water.’’

Whittaker stressed the importance of swimming during patrolled hours, and between the flags.

There were three other rescues on Saturday, proving the need for lifeguards to be present.

The swimmers were caught in rough water outside the flagged area, despite warnings from lifeguards to stay within the flags.

‘‘They were pretty thankful. One of them said she would have been screwed without us.’’

It was pure luck that the Lyall Bay lifeguard was at the beach, Sayer said, but it highlighted the importance of swimming patrols.

Water conditions could change quickly and the number of rescues on Saturday proved this, he said.

There were holes and rips that could form that people were not aware of.

Patrolled hours are from 1pm to 5pm on weekends.

Weekday patrols have finished.