AN Appleton medical student came to the rescue of one of his friends after the boom of the boat they were sailing in smashed across his head knocking him overboard.

Stewart Brown, aged 21, was the hero of the hour after his quick-thinking and training helped him save the life of his 27-year-old friend, Dave Smith*, who is still in hospital with a fractured skull.

Stewart, a third year medical student at Hull York University, said: “We were sailing on the River Crouch in Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, and performing a manoeuvre that involved us moving from one side of the river to the other.

“The metal boom at the bottom of the sail came across about 100mph and while we ducked, Dave didn’t and it hit him on the side of his head.

“It left a big dent in the boom, knocked Dave out and the force of the impact sent him a couple of feet away from the boat.”

Stewart dived in after him and pulled him on to his chest so his face was out of the water.

Fortunately, a rescue helicopter and doctors were at a fun day half a mile away at the time of the incident on Sunday.

Stewart, who was trained by The Lifesaving Society and has a Duke of Edinburgh gold medal, said: “His family are very thankful.

“It would be impossible to say if someone else had been in my position what would have happened.

“He was face down in the water for 30 seconds and it’s been estimated the time overboard to the shore was 15 minutes so we made the best out of a very bad situation.”

Stewart’s dad, Harry, said there could not have been a ‘better person’ there to save Dave’s life.

He added: “Stewart felt very confident because of all the training he had.

“He never thought he would actually have to do it but it shows how you can actually save people’s lives.”

*Name changed to protect his identity.