Swansea Coastguard received a 999 call at 9.30pm on Tuesday 22 July 2014 reporting that a friend had swum away from the shore at Swansea beach and had got into difficulty and they were losing sight of him. They were worried because it was getting dark and they reported that he had been drinking alcohol during the day.

Mumbles RNLI lifeboat and Mumbles Coastguard Rescue Team were asked to attend and fortunately the lifeboat crew found the man clinging to an outfall post half a mile offshore. Swansea Coastguard was able to stand down the rescue helicopter from RAF Chivenor once the man was recovered.

Swansea Coastguard Watch Manager Bev Haigh said:

The man recovered was lucky to be found just before complete darkness which makes a search at sea much more difficult.

After drinking alcohol your decision making is affected as well as your ability to swim so you are much more likely to get in trouble and setting off for a long swim in fading light is risky.