Three youths hailed as heroes after rescuing man

Three youths were yesterday hailed as heroes after rescuing a man who was swept off rocks at Sumner Beach in Christchurch.

The trio saw the man being swept out to sea by a strong rip from the beach and swam out to help him, police said.

A St John ambulance officer said the man would almost certainly have drowned if the youths had not got him back to shore.

Meanwhile, three youths needed rescuing after getting stranded on rocks off the west coast of the South Island yesterday.

The trio were fishing on rocks about 100m from the shore at Granity near Westport when they got caught by an incoming tide, police said.

They were rescued from the rocks just after 12pm.