Man rescued from North Sea 'thankful to be alive'

A man plucked from the North Sea after getting into difficulties has thanked the rescue teams who saved his life.

Chris Pike, 58, had taken a dip in the waters off Macduff in Aberdeenshire on Tuesday morning - which was his birthday - but started to get pulled further out to sea.

The alarm was raised from the shore, and as he battled to keep his head above water he was rescued by a lifeboat, before being airlifted to hospital.

Mr Pike, who describes himself as a reasonable swimmer, said: "If it wasn't for Macduff RNLI I'd have been dead."

The town's RNLI rescue boat, an oil and gas industry search and rescue helicopter and coastguard teams from Fraserburgh, Portsoy, Macduff and Buckie were all sent to the scene at about 09:45 on Tuesday.

Mr Pike was flown to Aberdeen for hospital treatment.

"It was my birthday," he told BBC Scotland News. "My intent was wade out to waist height, dive through a breaker, and wade back to shore.

"So I waded out maybe 100 metres (328ft). I didn't expect to be 200 metres (656ft) off shore when I surfaced and looked round. At this point I knew I was in trouble.

"I tried to swim, I was making very little progress and I was unbelievably cold, my legs stopped working around about then.

"With just my arms I'd no hope, I knew I was going to die because of my own stupidity."

The air and sea rescue operation was then launched after the alarm was raised.

Mr Pike, who lives in Banff and is originally from Derbyshire, said he had gone under the waves "significantly" at least twice and felt he was close to death.

It was then he saw the helicopter and lifeboat searching for him.

"I knew if I could hang on I'd probably be ok," he said. "A couple of minutes later I was pulled on the boat and the guys set about keeping me alive. Thank you is nowhere near enough."

He offered advice for people hoping to enjoy the waters off the coast.

"Do not go in without the proper gear, have a buoyancy aid with you, and ensure the tide is at the right point," he said.

"It's not the most intelligent thing I've ever done in my life. I do have a habit of thinking I'm somewhat superhuman. I hope this helps someone else make better decisions.

"I am sorry to everyone involved - please let this be a lesson."