A lifeboatman is being praised for bravery after plunging into a heavy sea off Tregantle on Sunday, and swimming 50 yards to shore to help a seriously-hurt 20-year-old woman.

Looe RNLI volunteer Ben Crabb, 32, and crewmen Clive Palfrey and John Crabb had responded to an emergency call at 4.50pm. They tried three times to land the Atlantic Class lifeboat Alan and Margaret on the beach but were prevented by the heavy swell.

A call was put out for the assistance of rescue helicopter 193 from Culdrose, but the RNLI was informed that, because the helicopter rescue team had been busy, it would be 40 minutes before it could reach the scene.

'It was then we decided it was too long to leave the casualty without assistance, as we had been informed she was slipping in and out of consciousness,' said Ben.

'I swam for it with the first aid kit and the radio receiver around my waist. I know the sea conditions there well, as I am a strong swimmer and surfer, and have been a lifeguard along Whitsand Bay in the past. The tide was going in but with a large undertow going out, and the surf was heavy left over from the previous storms, but I managed to reach the shore in a few minutes. I was then able to look after the woman until the helicopter's arrival.

'There were two men and three dogs with her and they told me they had been trying to walk around rocks to another beach to escape the incoming tide, when she had fallen from height, injuring her head.'

Ben, who became a lifeboatman 15 years ago, said the rescue had been one of the most nerve-racking he had known.

'For a period of around 45 minutes I was isolated on my own, without the crew, in fading light. With the tide coming in fast and the waves getting bigger,' he said. 'By the time the operation was over, it was dark.'

The casualty was the first person to be winched to the clifftop, where a land ambulance and the Tamar Coastguard were waiting. The two men were then rescued, followed by Ben, who took one of the dogs. The winchman went down for the remaining two dogs.

Ben added: 'A lot has been said about what I did, but without my crew, the coastguard and the helicopter the rescue would not have gone as smoothly as it did.'