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Swimmer reunited with lifeguard who saved her life

Eleri Griffiths
BBC News
RNLI Matty and Joanna hugging on Newgale beach. Matty's face isn't visible as he's hugging Joanna. He is wearing his RNLI uniform - a yellow t-shirt and red shorts. Joanna's face can be seen, her eyes are shut and her long blonde hair is blowing in the wind. She is wearing a light pink long sleeve shirt and black trousers. RNLI
Joanna Hicks from London has reunited with RNLI lifeguard Matty Mcleod, who saved her from a rip current at Newgale Beach in Pembrokeshire two years ago

A woman who was rescued from drowning in the sea has been reunited with the lifeguard who saved her life.

Joanna Hicks, from London, was caught in a rip current while swimming off Newgale Beach in Pembrokeshire in 2023 but RNLI lifeguard Matty Mcleod found her face down in stormy waters and pulled her to safety.

The pair were reunited at the same beach on Monday, a moment Mr Mcleod described as "really amazing."

Ms Hicks, who was back at the beach for the first time since she was saved, added: "It was incredible to meet Matty, the other lifeguards, and even the Wales Air Ambulance pilot who flew me to hospital."

Ms Hicks, a confident swimmer, was on holiday with friends at a nearby campsite when her morning swim took a dangerous turn.

"I suddenly found myself out of my depth and being swept away," she told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

Her friends called 999, and emergency services quickly arrived, but "fortunately, Matty was the first to find me and pull me out".

Ms Hicks was unresponsive when rescued and was airlifted to Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthenshire, where she spent 10 days in intensive care.

Mr Mcleod was hanging out washing when he got the call that someone was in trouble at Newgale Beach so he "dropped everything, jumped in the car and headed down".

RNLI Matty and Joanna standing next to each other on Newgale beach with the sea behind them. Matty, on the right, is wearing his RNLI uniform - a yellow t-shirt and red shorts. Joanna, on the left, has long blonde hair which she is holding away from her face as the wind is blowing it. She is wearing a light pink long sleeve shirt and black trousers. RNLI
The pair were reunited on Monday at Newgale Beach, two years after Matty saved Joanna's life

He did not know where Ms Hicks was and said it was "searching for a needle in a haystack" so just paddled into the water "hoping to find her".

He managed to get to her and pulled her to safety and even held her hand until she was airlifted to hospital.

"I just thought, if that were my mum, I'd want someone to do the same," he said.

RNLI Joanna standing in front of the lifeboat station at Newgale Beach with Matty and three other lifeguards. Joanna is in the middle and next to her, on the right, is Matty. The other lifeguards are wearing their RNLI uniform - a red long sleeve top, yellow t-shirts underneath the long sleeve tops and red shorts. RNLI
Ms Hicks says it was "incredible" to meet Matty and the other lifeguards who helped save her

Reflecting on the experience, Ms Hicks added: "I'm much more appreciative of the fact that the sea is very unpredictable place and anybody could be caught unaware."

The RNLI warned that the risk of accidental drowning is five times higher during warmer weather, with July seeing a spike in deaths.

Mr Mcleod emphasised that the RNLI always recommends swimming at beaches with lifeguards, where red and yellow flags mark the safest areas.