Hero, 61, who died saving his two grandsons from the sea in holiday horror
He sacrificed life to rescue boys, 7 and 10, in treacherous Crete waters
TRIBUTES were paid last night to a heroic Scot who died after saving his two grandsons from being swept out to sea during a holiday in Crete.
Retired council worker Jonathan Smith was described as a ‘devoted and courageous family man’ and a ‘lovely person’ who would always help others.
The 61-year-old leapt into the choppy water after the boys, aged seven and ten, got into difficulty at Gouves in northern Crete.
Mr Smith, from Carluke, Lanarkshire, managed to save the boys but it was ‘impossible’ for him to get himself to safety.
Yesterday friends said he had recently retired from his job at North Lanarkshire Council and was enjoying his time away with his wife Susan, 60, daughter and his grandsons.
His son David described him as a devoted and courageous family man and a huge rugby league fan.
Speaking to the Scottish Sun, the 34-year-old said: ‘I can’t believe I’ll never see him again. I loved my dad very much. He is my hero. I still can’t believe I’m never going to see him again after he left to go on his holidays. It’s an unexpected tragedy.
‘He recently retired from North Lanarkshire Council and was working for the NHS part-time. He was fanatical about rugby league and was a St Helens fan.
‘My family are still over there. I’ve not even asked any questions about what happened – I can’t deal with it. We’re just trying to get him home and have been speaking to the consulate.’
Mr Smith added: ‘To be brutally honest I’ve struggled to ask my family the full story. I can’t face talking about it with them, especially when they are still there.’
Yesterday, neighbours in Carluke paid tribute to Mr Smith. One said: ‘He was a lovely man, he was just a very quiet man. I can’t believe that he has passed.
‘Just a really nice person, very friendly and he always waved to us going past, a really nice neighbour. If we were in any need of anything, he was there for you. He is not long retired too.’
Mr Smith was central to developing North Lanarkshire Council’s Syrian resettlement programme in 2015, helping families who had fled the war-torn country.
Council chief executive Des Murray said: ‘The news about Jonathan has been a terrible shock to everyone who knew and worked with him over many years.
‘He was a wonderful, kind and considerate family man, who will be deeply missed and all our thoughts are with his family at this time.’
Describing the tragedy, which happened on Tuesday afternoon, Anthee Carassava, a journalist based in Athens, told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland: ‘They simply went off for a swim and the two young boys, aged seven and ten, ran into some choppy waters. The grandfather got very upset and unnerved and he went in, tried to save them.
‘He managed to pull them out of these choppy waters but in his bid to reach the rocks along the beach he simply got exhausted and it was impossible for him to get out.’
Crete lifeguard Antonis Farasarakis, who tried to save Mr Smith, told The Times that the sight of the grandfather when he finally managed to reach him was ‘just harrowing’.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: ‘We are supporting the family of a British man who died in Crete and are in contact with the Greek authorities.’
‘Wonderful, kind and considerate’