A BRAVE teenager told of the moment he dived into the sea to rescue a friend.

Reece Evmez, 15, pulled a girl to safety who had been dragged out to sea at West Bay by a huge wave.

The 13-year-old local girl ended up being kept in hospital overnight following the drama on Saturday afternoon.

Reece told how he and his friends had visited the beach and a member of their party, a 13-year-old girl, got into difficulty in the water.

Beaminster School student Reece, of Bridport, said he ran down the beach and dived in, swimming out to reach his friend.

He said: “When I got to her she was starting to go under water because she was going unconscious.”

He put his arm around her to keep her head above water and started to swim back. Reece said the sea had been calm earlier but it was choppy by the time he went into the water and he had to battle against a strong current.

Reece said: “I managed to get her to the rocks and that’s where the other people helped.”

The group managed to get the girl onto the rocks and wrapped her in towels to keep her warm. Reece said one man offered to help him, but he told him to look after his friend.

He went back to the beach to dry off, before returning to the rocks after a few minutes to look after his friend.

Reece said people had wrapped his friend in jackets and towels, and then the coastguard turned up and he explained what happened.

He added: “When the ambulance arrived they put her straight into the back of the ambulance. They warmed her and stabilised her and took her off to Dorset County Hospital.”

Paramedics also checked Reece over and took him to hospital to check he was ok.

Reece said his friend was released from hospital on Sunday and is doing well.

He thanked the people on the rocks who got his friend out.

He said: “I couldn’t have done it without the people that got onto the rocks and pulled her out. I don’t know who they were – I’d like to thank them.”

Reece said the realisation of what had happened only started to sink in when he was in the back of the ambulance.

He said: “I honestly didn’t have time to think, I just went out there and got her back.”

He added: “If I didn’t get to her when I did, I don’t think she’d be here.”

Reece’s father Richard, 44, said he was very proud of his son.

He said: “I think it was a very selfless act of bravery on his part.”

Mr Evmez said he was glad that everyone was ok.