Lifeguard brothers Carwyn and Rhys Francis have been praised after leaping into action on Borth beach to rescue a kayaker.

The casualty was 300m from the shore and outside the lifeguards’ primary patrol area when Carwyn, 33, showed great vigilance in spotting him in trouble. RNLI lifeguard Rhys, 29 immediately paddled out on a rescue board and recovered him from the water.

The kayaker who was not wearing a lifejacket or buoyancy aid was returned to shore and the sinking vessel was returned by Carwyn.

Sam Trevor, RNLI Lead Lifeguard Supervisor for Ceredigion says: “The kayaker was incredibly lucky that he had visited a lifeguarded beach and although slightly outside of our primary patrol area, Carwyn quickly spotted him in trouble. His vigilance is to be commented as this incident could have had a very different outcome.

“Both Carwyn and Rhys are excellent lifeguards and did an excellent job which I’m sure helped to save this man’s life.”

The Francis brothers have been lifeguarding with the RNLI since 2016. They have followed a family tradition, with older brother Sion having also been an RNLI lifeguard before leaving last year.

Sam adds: “With warm weather predicted over the coming days, we’d advise anyone visiting the coast to choose a lifeguarded beach. Remember to swim and bodyboard between the red and yellow flags, and surf, kayak or stand-up paddleboard between the black and white flags.

“The lifeguards position the flags in the safest area of the beach, if you see a red flag the lifeguards have deemed that area of the beach as unsafe – so do not enter the water. If you ever have any questions, feel free to approach the lifeguards who will be happy to help and can provide local beach safety advice for the conditions that day.”