The day after rushing to save two drunk swimmers in trouble at a Dunedin beach, Fraser Hawker was back at the scene with his dog, Sam.
The day after rushing to save two drunk swimmers in trouble at a Dunedin beach, Fraser Hawker was back at the scene with his dog, Sam.
A man who rushed to help two drunk swimmers stuck in a rip in Dunedin at the weekend has been labelled a hero who prevented a certain drowning.
The identify of the mystery Good Samaritan who dived in to rescue the men at a beach near Brighton on Sunday cannow be revealed as Dunedin man Fraser Hawker.
He was a reluctant hero yesterday, explaining he only did what the surf life-saving advertisements told him.
The 46-year-old GEA area sales manager said he had just caught up with friends and was heading to Brighton with his wife to walk his dogs.
"We drove past Brighton Beach and saw it was chocker, so we went up the coast a little bit.''
Hawker credited radio advertisements for helping him know to stay calm, float and raise a hand.
While he had surfed a lot in his younger days, it had been a long time since he had even swum, he said.
"My lungs were burning.''
He was reluctant to claim too much credit for the rescue but conceded he was pleased with the outcome.
Senior Sergeant Craig Dinnissen, of Dunedin, said the two men, aged 41 and 35, were intoxicated when they became caught in a rip at the unpatrolled stretch of beach.
