Modest man Martin, 55, saves a drowning dad in St Osyth

Martin Fuller, 55, was enjoying a bike ride along the St Osyth seafront at about 11am on Saturday when he heard a girl screaming for help.

The electrician, who was with his wife, quickly realised the young beachgoer’s dad was being swept out to sea, so he rushed to find a life ring.

Unable to locate one, he initially tried to reach the man by swimming out to him while fully-clothed, but the current proved too strong.

After seeing him drifting towards a nearby groyne, Mr Fuller sprinted down Hutley’s beach before swimming towards the breakwater, which he managed to grab hold of.

Within a matter of seconds, however, he found himself also in the dangerous waters after being shoved off of the groyne by the powerful waves.

Thankfully Mr Fuller was able to grab hold of the man as he drifted past before a man, who said his name was Bill, chucked them a life ring which he had found.

“We then swam back to the beach, which was really hard as it was against the outgoing tide,” added Mr Fuller.

“Three ambulances turned up and a lifeboat team, although we had already managed to get the man out of the water by then.

“It was really emotional because everyone was clapping and cheering and the family of the man hugged me.

“They were crying their eyes out and the man’s poor children were in bits.

“But this is not for praise and I am not trying to be a hero.”

Warning signs at Hutley's Beach

Mr Fuller has now called for better safety measures to be installed along that stretch of beach.

He added: “I am disgusted there were no buoyancy aids or rescue lines along that stretch. Someone might not be so lucky next time.”

Read More: Hero day-tripper saves girl, 12, from drowning off Clacton coast

A spokeswoman for the East of England Ambulance Service said it sent the Hazardous Area Response Team, an ambulance and an ambulance officer to the scene.

She added the man was taken to Colchester Hospital. for further care.

A spokesman for Hutley’s Caravan Park, which owns the beach, added: “Usually when someone gets into difficulty someone comes and tells us, but that did not happen on this occasion.

“As soon as we deduced what was happening ourselves, from seeing people running, we called the ambulance service and coastguard.

“We did everything we could and we were able to provide a buoyancy aid, which are kept in our office to prevent them from being stolen.

“We commend the guy who jumped in to help the man, he was fantastic.”

The latest coastal incident comes after a day-tripper rescued a young girl from seawaters not far from Clacton Pier.