A brave teenager has helped save the lives of a father and son whose boat capsized, leaving them stranded in the dangerously cold sea off Southend.

Richard Eves, 15, of Camper Road, Southend, rushed to the rescue with his father, rowing their boat to Kevin and Ben Kerrigan who had been caught in the sea for half an hour.

Now Tracy Kerrigan, wife of Kevin, 40 and mother of Ben, 12, of Chelsea Avenue, Southend, has said a special thank you to the father and son team who came to the rescue - and also to a kind stranger who stopped her from trying to swim out herself.

Mr Kerrigan and Ben had gone out in a dinghy to reach their offshore angling boat close to their home on Saturday evening. Mrs Kerrigan took the dog for a walk shortly afterwards.

She expected to see her husband and son fishing, but could only see their flotation suits in the water and realised something was wrong.

The alarm was raised, but before the lifeboat crew arrived family friend Richard and his dad Kevin, 38, had rowed out and reached Mr Kerrigan and Ben and pulled them out of the water.

Mrs Kerrigan said: "They were terrific - they had saved their lives. My husband couldn't speak, the coldness had got to him. He was barely conscious. My son was in shock."

Last night Mr Kerrigan and Ben were recovering at home after hospital treatment for hypothermia.

Richard, who plans to become a fisherman, said: "It isn't heroic. The real heroes are the lifeboat crew, because they get called out when it's blowing a force eight gale."

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