Three surfers rushed to save a man's life after he was left drifting on a notorious stretch of water. 

The men stayed with Greg Popple for 30 minutes and had to be rescued themselves by helicopter as the drama unfolded. 

The 45-year-old had floated out on a body board near Hutchwns Point at 8:30 am. He found himself in trouble about half-a-mile from the shore and dangerously close to rocks. Surfers Graig Evans, 31, Robert Miles, 19, and Owain Daviees, 23, were risking their own safety to keep him floating for 30 minutes. Luckily a passer-by noticed what was going on and raised the alarm. Porthcawl Coastguard, Porthcaw Lifeboat and an RAF helicopter all took part in the rescue. 

"The man who got into trouble was a body boarder-there was a big tide where he was," said Joe Missen. "Three other surfers spotted he was in difficulty and he was going down. They kept him afloat because he was in a state of shock and out of energy. If Mr. Popple was closer to the rocks, it could have been a lot worse, but they managed to keep him from harm". 

Mr. Missen's mum Alison, also part of the rescue team, said, "That part of the water is notorious for taking people out to nowhere". 

The three men had clocked off a night shift at Ford Motor Company shortly before the incident. 

"I headed straight down to the beach for a surf, when I saw him flailing . We just swam straight out to him and kept him calm while the help came". 

The four men were taken to the life boat house to recover, without injuries.
WOW MANY WENT TO HELP
WHAT WERE THEY
WHAT WERE THEY TRYING TO DO
WHAT WAS THE HE DOING
WHERE
WHAT WAS THE MANS NAME
DID THEY REMAIN THERE
HOW LONG
HOW OLD WAS HE
WHERE DID THEY FIND HIM
WHAT TIME
WHAT WAS HE ON
WHAT WAS HE NEAR
WAS HE SAFE
ONE PERSON THAT HELPED
HOW OLD
ANOTHER HELPER
AGE
FINAL PERSON
AGE
Three
Three
surfers
Three surfers
save a man
save a man's life
drifting
drifting
ON THE WATER
on a notorious stretch of water. 

Greg Popple
Greg Popple
YES
stayed with Greg Popple for 30 minutes
30 minutes
30 minutes
45
The 45-year-old
Hutchwns Point
near Hutchwns Point
8:30 am
 at 8:30 am
A board
on a body board 
rocks.
dangerously close to rocks.
NO
dangerously 
Graig Evans,
Surfers Graig Evans,
31
Surfers Graig Evans, 31
Robert Miles
Robert Miles, 19
19,
19,
Owain Daviees
Owain Daviees
23
Owain Daviees, 23