Hero didn’t know it was cousin he was trying to rescue

A man who gave a drowning victim CPR didn’t realise he was trying to save his own cousin.

Scott Ferries, 24, died after his kayak capsized in Loch Doon, near Dalmellington in Ayrshire, last Sunday.

One of the onlookers who tried to save his life was Jordan Ferries, 27, who was on the other side of the loch camping with friends.

After hearing calls for help and noticing a man in difficulty in water, Jordan (above) and pals used paddleboards to drag Scott to the shore.

But the software engineer had no idea the person he was trying to save was his own family member.

Jordan said: “He didn’t look like Scott, because of what had happened in the water. His face was white, his lips were blue.”

As Jordan battled to resuscitate the man, he recognised the distinctive tattoos on his arms.

Jordan said: “I saw a star on his wrist and a tribal tattoo on his forearm.

“That’s when it hit me – ‘This is Scott Ferries, this is my wee cousin.’ I just couldn’t believe it.”

Despite the best efforts of paramedics when they arrived at the scene, Scott was pronounced dead.

Scott’s dad James paid tribute to the heroes who risked their own lives to try and save his son. He said: “I now class Jordan and his friends as my heroes – they risked their own lives to go in and try and save my son. They never knew who it was they were saving until they pulled him out. His cousin was there standing with them, it made everything even more painful.

“I’ve since spoken to one of the boys, it has really affected him but he told me he wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.

“I’ll be forever indebted. There are no words to thank them.”

Scott’s friend on the kayak managed to survive the tragedy after dumping his jacket which was pulling him under the water.

James said: “They were sitting there having a carry on within minutes it ended up becoming a tragic accident.

“Scott’s friend had a big jacket on, it started to pull him down.

“He wrestled with every bit of strength trying to hold on to the kayak, and they had started to manage to get further in.

“But the cold water was taking over, Scott then didn’t want to leave his kayak and went back out to get it – his friend told me, ‘I couldn’t stop him then I couldn’t help him.’

“If he hadn’t tried to recover the kayak, he might have survived.

“His friend was absolutely devastated, they knew each other from the garage and were close pals.”