Teenage sisters use lilo to save toddler and man from drowning in Aberdeenshire

The girls thought they were playing, but the man, who had the boy on his shoulders, was out of his depth and in trouble.

By Russell Hope, news reporter,

Image: Lifeboat crews say the sisters' quick thinking 'made all the difference'. Pic: Fraserburgh Lifeboat

Two teenage sisters have rescued a toddler and a man from drowning off the coast of northeast Scotland.
Isla and Eilidh Noble used a lilo to pull the pair to shore after hearing the man cry out and realising they were in trouble.

The rescue happened off the Waters of Philorth near Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire on Monday afternoon.
They said they initially thought the pair were playing, but the man, who had the young boy on his shoulders, was out of his depth.

Image: The girls first thought the man was playing with his child. Pic: Fraserburgh Lifeboat

Isla, 15, went out with the lilo to try to rescue them while Eilidh, 14, went to phone for the coastguard.

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The sisters put the child on the inflatable, while the man lay across it.

Isla supported the child on the lilo with one hand, and pushed with the other, while Eilidh helped keep the man on the inflatable and pushed from the other.

Image: The man was airlifted to hospital. Pic: Fraserburgh Lifeboat

Image: The beach at the Waters of Philorth, near Fraserburgh. Pic: Fraserburgh Lifeboat

As they got closer to shore, a man, Keith Gray, who had been having a picnic nearby, arrived to help.
"I didn't really think about it really, I just had to get out. I didn't really stop and think about it," Isla told STV News.
"The adrenaline just kind of kicked in. I heard them starting to shout 'help', you could see them in the water and I just thought 'get out'.
"I got the wee boy on the lilo and then the man was hanging on to the lilo with his head out of the water and then I could only use one arm to hold on to the wee boy. I can't quite believe it, I'm just glad that I could help."
"Keith came out and grabbed the other side of the lilo and we both managed to take them in," she added.
When they reached safety, a nurse who had been walking on the beach, rushed over after hearing cries for help.

Image: The sisters with Keith Gray, who was also involved in the rescue. Pic: Fraserburgh Lifeboat

Sophie Ross told Good Morning Scotland: "The young lass had pulled the fellow out of the water and he was on the lilo.
"We put him in the recovery position and got him to cough up some sea water, checked his pulse and breathing and kept the coastguard up to date with his condition until they arrived."
The child was checked by paramedics and found to be well, Fraserburgh Lifeboat said in a statement on its Facebook page, but the man had lost consciousness before coming round.
The statement added: "The man regained consciousness enough, although still very weak and strapped in to his stretcher, to lift his oxygen mask slightly and thank his rescuers before being airlifted to hospital.
"Isla and Elidh and Keith did brilliant. The girls, for being so young and springing into action and having the presence of mind to phone the coastguard and calmly give them the details of the incident, enabled the emergency services including ourselves to respond and arrive so quickly.
"Make no mistake their presence and actions today made all the difference. They all deserve medals".
The identities of the pair who were rescued have so far not been revealed.