"I thought I was going to die in the sea": Dad's life is saved on holiday in Cornwall
His family have made an emotional plea, urging people to support the RNLI's Christmas appeal
Last updated 8th Dec 2020
An emotional plea has been made after a man's life was saved while on holiday in Cornwall.
Ben Williamson and his family, who are from Manchester, were enjoying a long holiday in Perranporth back in August.
One evening they went to the beach for a BBQ to watch the sunset. Ben went in the water for a bodyboard while his wife Hannah and three children stayed on the beach, playing in the shallow water.
But he got caught in a strong rip current and started to be swept out to sea.
"I have never felt fear like that in my life"
Ben's wife Hannah says she noticed he wasn’t catching many waves and that he had drifted slightly. She just assumed he was going further in to try and catch better waves and thought nothing of it at first.
"Megan then alerted me to the fact that daddy had drifted even further and she couldn’t really see him. She said ‘Mummy I can’t see Daddy!!’, I explained he was going in deeper to catch more waves. I think I was in denial at first until she screamed at me ‘Mummy! Daddy’s disappeared!’ I looked up and Ben had been swept out around 20-30 metres in a matter of seconds, very quickly I couldn’t even see him. It then hit me that he was in serious trouble and I immediately went in to panic mode.
"Two surfers, who turned out to be the bravest and most selfless boys I have ever met, immediately ran in to the sea and swam over to Ben. I have no idea how they found him as the sea was very choppy but they reached him and stayed with him, giving him reassurance that help was on its way.
Luckily, the St Agnes lifeboat rushed to the rescue and managed to bring Ben back to safety on the shore.
"People on the beach helped me contact the Coastguard and the helicopter arrived after about 15 minutes. The RNLI lifeboat then came flying around the corner and at that point I knew everyone was going to be safe. The helicopter spotted Ben and the two surfers and guided the crew to their position. They picked them up and brought them back to the beach.
"I have never felt real fear before but what I felt during those few minutes was stomach churning fear. I thought I’d lost him, I didn’t think he was coming back. He’s safe and he’s here all thanks to the RNLI.
"The RNLI were simply amazing, they are true heroes. They were totally non-judgmental, and their professionalism and dedication are just unbelievable. We will be forever in their debt. They saved our family that night."
Hannah, Ben's wife
"I thought I was going to die at sea"
Ben says that when it happened he thought he may lose his life in the water that day.
"When I realised I wasn’t going to be able to get back, I started thinking all sorts of things, I was really considering the fact that I was going to die in the sea more than get out of it. Out of nowhere I saw this little orange speedboat coming towards us and it was just amazing.
"For anyone visiting the coast, you never know when they are going to need the services of the RNLI. Whether you live near the seas or go on holiday near the beach, please give what you can and help keep families like ours together."
Ben Williamson
Now Ben and his family are urging people to support the RNLI's Christmas appeal.
The families of casualties who were rescued by the RNLI across the South West say they are lucky to be able to celebrate Christmas together thanks to the charity’s lifesavers.
They have now joined forces to urge others to help, as the charity reveals it has lost millions in income after fundraising activities had to be cancelled due to the pandemic.
The lifesaving charity had to spend £1.2M this year to ensure its volunteer lifeboat crews and beach lifeguards had the vital PPE, such as face masks and gloves, to keep lifesavers and the public safe. This was money the charity hadn’t planned to spend, at a time when RNLI shops were forced to close and fundraising events were cancelled.
Torbay RNLI Deputy Coxswain James Hoare and his dad Jeff are fronting the charity’s Christmas appeal in the South West.
"We’ve had a very challenging summer, rescuing those in difficulty in the midst of a pandemic and with foreign holidays being cancelled, we received more visitors to our coastline. Throughout 2020 the crew at Torbay and around the south west have been ready to answer the pager and rescue those in difficulty.
"As a charity, the RNLI relies on the support of the public to continue saving lives – and that support is needed now more than ever."
Torbay RNLI Deputy Coxswain, James Hoare
The RNLI’s Christmas Appeal hopes to raise over £2M in donations.
Additional PPE and adapting to coronavirus restrictions has been challenging for the volunteer crew members and lifeguards across the South West.
For 2020, the RNLI purchased 6.7 million units of coronavirus PPE - including almost 700,000 face masks, 2.4 million gloves and just under 5,000 litres of hand sanitiser.
You can help the RNLI brave a wave it never expected, and support the Christmas appeal here.