AN HEROIC holidaymaker feels “lucky to be alive” after he saved the lives of two teenage girls who were in danger of drowning in the sea off Tywyn.

Chris Wilde, 39, rescued the two teenage girls after they got into difficulty while swimming in crashing waves on Tuesday, 23 August.

Chris, who was on holiday with his family in a caravan near Barmouth at the time, told the Cambrian News it had been a “frightening” experience.

“I’m a strong swimmer, but I really did think, for a time, that we wouldn’t make it. I was thinking ‘my two sons are watching and I’m a goner’,” he said.

“It shows how things can change for the worse in a split second. You really have to respect the power of the sea. You can’t take chances.”

The family were in the sea when he heard cries for help.

Chris added: “It was windy, the waves were big and we could feel the undertow, so I was very careful to make sure we stayed close to the shore.

“Two girls were next to us, then I heard a cry from further out and saw another girl who was clearly in difficulty.

“One of the girls next to us started swimming out to her, and I realised I needed to help as well, because they were only about 14 years old.”

Read the full story in this week’s Meirionnydd edition of the Cambrian News