A KAYAKER risked his life to save a 19-year-old stranded in a dinghy in choppy waters.

Barry Hughes, of Sherwood, Nottingham, rescued the young man who had capsized with a friend in the sea off Scarborough Harbour.

The teenager was holding a lifebelt but unable to climb on to the pier, though his friend had swum to safety.

Witnesses said the boy would have drowned if Mr Hughes had not set out in his kayak to save him.

The 33-year-old, who has canoed and kayaked since he was five, was visiting Scarborough for a day's surf-kayaking on December 30.

He said: "We'd finished for the day and were getting changed.

"My mate saw the dinghy and went up the pier to see what was going on.

"By the time he got to the end, we realised they were in trouble. We launched the kayak off the pier.

"The lad was lying alongside with a life belt – if he had gone past the pier things could have got very nasty.

"The belt was holding him against the wall and waves were crashing into him.

"I just got him to hold on to the side of the kayak and tried to get him to safety.

" I managed to get him to a ladder where he was able to climb to safety himself.

"He was definitely in shock but he was quite co-operative by the time I got to him."

Mr Hughes was in Scarborough with co-workers from Desperate Measures canoe shop, in Trent Boulevard, Lady Bay.

Daniel Scott, Ben Thorpe, Joshua Gosling and Sarah Chynoweth stayed on standby in case further help was needed.

The rescued young man from Scarborough – who has not been named – was taken to hospital by Sea King helicopter and left the same day.

Mark Appleby, station master for Scarborough Coastguard, said: "The unselfishness of the kayaker, who had the courage to put his life on the line to pluck the youth from the water, combined with the fact that the rescue helicopter was already in the air, almost certainly prevented this incident from having a tragic outcome."

Mr Hughes said: "We were very careful in carrying out the rescue.

"All kayakers are trained to do rescues but that's mainly to do with the sport and helping other kayakers.

"I've had lots of training over the years, but I've never been in a situation like this before."