THE funeral of a man who died in a boating tragedy off Redcar was held on Wednesday at St Peter's Church, Redcar.

Peter Blount, 47, of Redcar, and his best friend, Bernard Powell, 56, of Stokesley, North Yorkshire, died at sea after their boat's engine failed and took on water 600 yards off South Gare, near Redcar.

Philip Ridout, 20, a family friend, survived but suffered serious leg injuries.

Mr Blount had owned the cabin cruiser for seven months when it was swamped by a freak wave.

All three men fell into the water. Mr Blount and Mr Ridout fought to save Mr Powell, who suffered from asthma, but their attempts to attract attention failed and it was five hours before rescue services reached the men after they were seen by two teenagers walking along the shore.

Jane Trainor, Mr Blount's partner of seven years, said: "Bernie died after three hours, but by that time Peter and Philip were starting to suffer from hypothermia and it was too late for them to swim to shore.

"Pete died trying to save his best friend, Bernie, a thoroughly nice man, and I'm very, very proud of him.

"Pete and Philip were exceptional swimmers but they wouldn't leave Bernard. They are both heroes.

"Philip can see our pain and he has been suffering from flashbacks. It's been very hard for him."

Mr Blount had two sons, Graham, 23, and Ross, 27. He had proposed to his partner, Ms Trainor, on April 14 - her birthday.