An Angus man has saved two people from drowning in dramatic scenes at a Scottish loch.
Charlie Duthie, 34, dived into Aboyne Loch after 38-year-old mum-of-sixJennifer Reid and her son Brandon, 19, fell in without life jackets.
Brandon had been in a boat on the loch with his family but nearly died as the current swept him away from his boat.
Mr Duthie, from Monikie, had been relaxing in his campervan on Monday when he heard a woman screaming for help.
Her husband Jonathan Radley had tried to rescue the Reids but got intodifficulty himself.
Mr Duthie said: “It all happened without thought I just knew I had to help. They’d probably been in the water for 10-15 minutes by the time I got in. Their boat had drifted away so far I couldn’t really see it.”
He swam out to the stricken woman and was able to pull her back to shore. But the two men had been swept 60 feet out into the centre of the loch, withBrandon unconscious and sinking.
Mr Duthie and the other rescuer were able to bring him ashore but feared their efforts were too late.
“It was terrifying the guy was just a dead weight, He kept pulling us under, so it could have been the three of us going down,” said Mr Duthie.
“I’m quite a strong swimmer, but I wouldn’t have managed on my own. Adrenaline was going big time.”
Once ashore, paramedics resuscitated the man before taking him to the local hospital.
Jennifer said: “Brandon wanted a shot rowing, but wanted to take his jacket off from under his life vest. The oars slipped from his hands and fell into the loch.
“Without thinking, he jumped in to get them. He reached the oar but quickly got into trouble. I thought, ‘I’m going to watch my son die right here in front of me.’”
Brandon’s girlfriend Emma Will, 22, was still on the boat with two ofJennifer’s children, Maria Anne, 13 and David James, 10.
Jennifer,from Kincorth, said: “All the kids were screaming.”
Brandon is expected to make a full recovery.