A FISHERMAN saved from death after being swept out to sea by soaring waves was rescued by lifeboat volunteers on a training exercise.

He owed his life to the crew who pulled him from icy waters before the rough seas could fling him against perilous rocks, said a RNLI manager.

The Redcar RNLI lifeboat was called as well as the Hartlepool inshore lifeboat which was already in the North Sea - having been launched into service for the first time that day - when the alarm was raised at about 3.40pm yesterday.

The man who had been washed off the South Gare in Redcar was found barely conscious by the Hartlepool crew who pulled him from the cold waters.

Dave Cocks, Lifeboat Operations Manager at Redcar RNLI, said: “Both lifeboats then raced to the Harbour Master’s landing at Tees Dock where the man was transferred to a waiting ambulance.

"This was an extremely difficult rescue. We’re at the point of some very high tides and there were strong winds. The crews reported seas up to four metres in height.

"It is only by good fortune that he was found so quickly by the Hartlepool crew. They were at sea training on their new lifeboat, so they were able to find and rescue the man very quickly.

"The North Sea is at its coldest about now, and he could easily have been badly injured or killed if the rough seas had thrown him against the rocks or the breakwater.”

He added: “As far as I’m concerned he owes his life to the Hartlepool RNLI crew.”