A dog walker was minutes from drowning in mud on Denbighshire beach when he was saved by two schoolboys.
Gareth Parry-Jones, 75, had given up all hope when the two youngsters heard his cries for help.
Keeping hold of one end of the dog lead, Gareth Parry-Jones threw the handle to the boys. ‘They pulled me out inch by inch,’ he said. ‘It took them a half-hour, by which time the water was up to the top of my legs.’
Gareth’s brush with death came when he took his dog Bitsy for her usual evening walk on Horton’s Nose, a nature reserve by the mouth of the River Clwyd in Rhyl.
Bitsy, a 14-year-old Lakeland and Jack Russell cross, loves scampering on the dunes, which offer wonderful views out to sea.
As usual, they walked across the foreshore to the water’s edge. It was 6pm and there wasn’t a soul around. ‘
‘We go there every evening [but] for some reason I decided to go back a different way,’ said Gareth, a former HGV driver who, in 1984-85, helped build the new Falklands airport to replace the island’s war-damaged runway.
‘I slipped and fell in deep mud. I tried to get out but the mud was up to my knees and I couldn’t get out. The tide was coming in and, as a fishermen, I realised I didn’t have much time left. When the river outflow combines with the incoming tide, the water can rise incredibly fast.’
As he tried to extricate himself, he fell forward. His feet remained trapped but Gareth kept his head above the mud by clinging onto a rock. He began shouting for help – but there was no one around.
‘Bitsy stayed with me – she knew something was wrong,’ he said. ‘When I got stuck, the water was four or five yards from me and it was coming in fast. Honestly, I thought my time was up.’
Gareth continued: ‘I actually had my mobile phone with me but I couldn’t call for help. It was in my rucksack, which was still on my back. As I was lying face down, I couldn’t reach it. So I shouted and shouted. After half an hour I heard voices and I called out to them. It was two boys, about 12 and 13-years-old.’
They came running to help. Luckily, Gareth still had his dog lead around his neck. Throwing one end to the boys, they began hauling him out.
‘One of the lads was tiny,’ he said. ‘I’ll never forget, he said to me, “Don’t worry mate, we’ll get you out”. They were so calm. By this time I was soaking and freezing cold. Bitsy ran off for a bit and I was worried where she had gone. But she was soon back by my side.
‘The water kept rising and I didn’t think I was going to make it. But the lads kept pulling and after 30 minutes I was free. I’d been lying flat and by then the water was up to the top of my legs. Another 10 minutes and the sea would have covered me.’
Caked in mud, Gareth was too shocked and exhausted to ask the boys for their names. Once back at his home in Rhyl, and having recovered from the ordeal on Sunday, August 11, he issued a Facebook appeal to find out who they were.
An uncle of one of the boys got in touch and today (Thursday, August 22) his aunt fetched him to Funky Feet Records in Market Street where Gareth helps out (the other boy is currently on holiday). With the shop’s owner, Mark Speakman, he had a surprise in store.
‘Mark’s donated them a watch each and I’m giving both some money,’ said Gareth. ‘They are both heroes. It was a horrendous experience and I honestly think they saved my life.’
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