Two young men were saved from the sea off Brighton by a pair of quick-thinking council seafront officers.
As a result, one of the rescuers was taken to hospital with hypothermia.
Jay Hunter and Gary Walker rescued the pair on Saturday after their dinghy capsized.
Mr Hunter and Mr Walker were alerted by Cityclean beach cleaners Cass Brooks and John Kelly who spotted the men getting into difficulty about 200 to 300 yards out to sea.
Mr Hunter arrived on the scene first and swam out to the pair, one of whom who was unable to swim.
Mr Walker followed on a rescue board.
Both casualties had been brought safely back to shore by the time the lifeboat arrived.
Mr Hunter, who had been in the water for about 20 minutes, and the two casualties were taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital suffering from the effects of hypothermia.
Brighton and Hove City Council said: “The incident happened at around 4.30pm on Saturday.
“It is believed that the two men, both in their early twenties, got into difficulties when the strong offshore wind quickly blew their dinghy out to sea.
“They tried to row back to the shore but were struggling, lost a paddle and capsized.
“One of the boys could not swim and both started to panic and shout for help.
“Members of the public called 999 but a Cityclean beach cleaner phoned the seafront office directly and they came to the rescue.”
Bystander Peter Logan watched the rescue and later emailed the seafront team, saying: “I have just arrived home from a trip to Brighton today and I write to you concerning the rescue of the two male persons 300 metres off the beach between Brighton and Hove.
“Your two lifeguards arrived on scene and did, without concern for their own safety, immerse themselves in the freezing water and swim out to the two stricken casualties.
“They did this with a strong offshore wind and as a result of their heroic deeds saved the lives of the two.
“They even had the casualties safe on the beach before the arrival of the inshore rescue boat.
“I did have the pleasure to shake the hand of one of your gallant boys and as a member of the public I am pleased to see we are protected by your young men such as these two.
“They deserve to be highly commended for the skill and bravery they showed today.”
Hi thanks for saving my brother and his mates the other day. my brother is calleds james derrig. Cheers. i owe you one
Hi John,
Just found your comment on this website, i’m glad your brother’s OK. How’s he doing now, no more expeditions into the sea i hope?
To say it was a pleasure to help out might be a bit strong as the hypothermia wasn’t much fun! But it’s a nice thing to know you’ve maybe saved somebodys life so i’m really pleased to have helped out.
Please send him my regards,
Cheers,
Jay