A COLCHESTER man died after collapsing in the sea and another man had his ear nearly bitten off in a weekend of sea-front incidents.

A man, who was in his 70s, became unwell while in the water at Southcliff Beach in Walton.

He was on a day trip with some of his family on Sunday and became ill at about 11.30am.

He was helped ashore by relatives and members of the public, including a visitor from Chelmsford who started cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the sand.

Two beach patrol officers, Simon Bloomfield and Danny Welham, then rushed to the scene from their office at Albion Beach.

And the air ambulance was scrambled.

Mr Bloomfield said: “We got there as quickly as we could, with our first aid kit and our new defibrillator.

“A member of the public had already called the ambulance service and we took over CPR until the paramedics arrived.”

The man was airlifted to Colchester General Hospital by air ambulance but was later pronouced dead. His next have kin have been informed.