A Chelmsford electronics engineer on a weekend trip to the Isle of Wight has been praised by Hampshire police for trying to revive an elderly man in the sea.
Christopher Hayes, 26, was walking between Collwell Bay and Totland around 2.45pm on Sunday when he discovered a walking stick, looked into the water and saw a body.
A Hampshire police spokeswoman said: "He climbed down a rusty ladder into the water and turned the body over.
"He then brought it out and the emergency services were called."
An Isle of Wight police spokesman said that Mr Hayes tried to revive the man, but he was dead.
Hampshire police believe that the dead man, later named as Stanley Sanders, 78, of Totland, had died from natural causes.
The spokeswoman said: "We would like to praise Mr Hayes for what he did. The man was face down in knee-deep water, and he pulled him to the side."
Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article