Sisters who were hailed as heroes after they saved a father and son using a lilo have been reunited with the man they saved.
Isla and Eilidh Noble were involved in a daring rescue at the Waters of Philorth near Fraserburgh.
The sisters leapt into action after they heard cries for help and traced them to a man struggling in the water with a young boy on his shoulders.
Isla, 15, rushed into the sea with a lilo, and hauled the four-year-old on to the float while another passer-by, Keith Gray, swam out to help pull the man to shore.
Heroic sisters use inflatable lilo to save father and son, 4, from the sea
Eilidh, 14, raised the alarm with the emergency services, before researching the recovery position online.
Passing nurse Sophie Ross helped the trio look after the man, and both the man and the Nobles’ families rushed to the scene.
Emergency services arrived quickly and after several minutes the man regained consciousness enough, although still very weak and strapped into his stretcher, to lift his oxygen mask slightly and thank his rescuers before being airlifted to hospital.
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Last night, after a hectic day of interviews, TV appearances and radio show – the Noble family was surprised by a knock on the door.
It was the man the girls had rescued – who introduced himself as Phil.
He explained how he and his family had been on holiday from Newcastle, and were returning home today.
Mum Lisa Noble said: “I opened the door and just went ‘is that really you’?
“I’d seen the man on the beach but of course he looked entirely different then.
“He said ‘yes, it’s me’ and seemed so upbeat.”
It transpired that that Phil knew where to find the family due to his wife, and her desire to return a borrowed beach towel.
She had frantically taken down the Fraserburgh family’s address as her husband had been airlifted to hospital, when she realised the paramedics had taken the towel with them.
Mrs Noble added: “Phil dropped off the towel and came to say thank you to the girls.
“He told us he had been kept in hospital overnight as a precaution, and had been discharged in the morning.
“He said he ‘couldn’t thank the girls enough’ and asked a few questions about what had happened and seemed amazed at how small the girls were.
“Isla, who went out on the lilo, is actually the smaller of the two so he was surprised at how she managed to get him out the water as he is so tall.
“He had called his father-in-law back in Newcastle who had seen the news coverage – but had no idea it was his family.”
The RNLI said in a statement that the girls “deserved medals” for their action at the beach on Tuesday.
A spokesman said: “Once again the dangers of swimming in our seas have been highlighted and we advise everyone to be very careful when having fun at the coast.
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.”
Last night, Mrs Noble added: “We are completely humbled by the support. The girls are still getting used to what has happened, it is all a bit surreal. I am still so, so proud.”
