A 10-year-old boy has survived in the North Sea for an hour after learning how to stay alive from a BBC 2 documentary.
The lad left coastguards in awe with his knowledge of survival skills and managed to keep himself safe until a rescue boat could reach him.
The schoolboy had been swimming off the coast of Scarborough in North Yorkshire on Friday when he was swept away by the tide and wind at around 7pm.
He knew not to panic and turned onto his back, spreading his arms and legs out wide to help him stay on the surface.
He had learned the skills by watching the Saving Lives at Sea , which followed the lifeboat crews and lifeguards of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
The RNLI urges people to float on their backs, rather than swimming hard or thrashing about when they are pulled out to sea.
Coxswain Lee Marton told The Sun: "We were told that he'd been watching lifeboat rescues on the BBC documentary Saving Lives at Sea and had followed the advice given on the show.
"We're very much in awe of this incredible lad, who managed to remain calm and follow safety advice to the letter in terrifying and stressful circumstances.
"Had he not, the outcome might have been very different."
The boy had been reported missing near Scarborough Spa and the inshore lifeboat was launched to assist North Yorkshire Police and Humber Coastguard in locating him.
