The heroic actions of a member of the public saved a canoeist who had been capsized into the water off Fish Strand Quay, Falmouth.

Two people had been in a Canadian canoe, on a fishing expedition in Falmouth inner harbour, on Saturday afternoon.

Just before 4pm they were alongside the quay transferring equipment when the strong winds caused the canoe, with one of them still onboard, to drift away from the quay.

Without a paddle the canoe soon drifted out into the moorings and then capsized, throwing its occupant who was not wearing a lifejacket into the water.

The coastguard was called, who contacted Falmouth coastguard cliff rescue team and the town’s inshore lifeboat, which was there by 4.01pm.

However, a quick-thinking member of the public had already grabbed a nearby punt and rowed out to rescue the casualty from the water.

A spokesperson for Falmouth RNLI said: “The actions of this individual should be highly commended and may well have in fact saved his life.”

  • Do you know who the quick-thinking member of the public was? Give credit where credit is due and contact the Packet at emma.goodfellow@packetseries.co.uk or call chief reporter Emma Goodfellow on 01326 213341, so they can be named in the article. Photos can also be send to the same email address.