A day at the seaside nearly ended in tragedy when a man and a boy almost drowned. Alex Hodson, from Eccleshall in Staffordshire, was visiting Conwy in Wales, where he went for a swim with his niece and a friend’s son in September 2022.
But on what appeared to be a ‘calm and beautiful’ day the trio were suddenly caught as the tide turned. Alex feared for his and the child's life as they battled the tide and were ‘exhausted’.
He said: “I was out of my depth and was giving everything to keep me and my friend’s son afloat. I got to the point where I thought: 'This is it, I’m going to drown.'
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“It was a calm and beautiful day, but when we turned around we realised we were surrounded by water, and the current was so strong I couldn’t swim against it. We could see the beach, but we couldn’t get there – we were very scared.”
Alex’s niece managed to get back to the shore and raised the alarm. Volunteer lifeboat crew members from Conwy RNLI were called to the scene and were on the water within minutes of their pagers sounding.
They reached Alex and the boy just in time. Alex said: “It was a huge relief when I saw the boat coming towards us. I had nothing left, physically or mentally – without the crew, we wouldn’t have survived.”
The pair were taken to Conwy Lifeboat Station where they warmed up and then went to hospital to be checked. They were both discharged that day.
Now Alex is backing the RNLI’s Mayday’ call, urging the public to take part in the Mayday Mile – at RNLI.org/supportMayday - taking on the challenge of covering a mile-a-day during May. All money raised will help to support the charity’s vital lifesaving service.
Pete Emmett, head of engagement at the RNLI, said: “This year, the RNLI has been saving lives at sea for 200 years. We’re now coming up to our busiest time of year, so we’re putting out our call for help to raise the funds which will help keep our lifesaving service going today and into the future.
“Our incredible lifeboat crews across the UK and Ireland launched over 9,000 times last year to help those in need, and our lifeguards kept people safe across hundreds of beaches. As a charity, we rely on the generous support of members of the public to continue this lifesaving work.”
