A charity yesterday praised the courage of a man who carried out a sponsored swim in rough seas on Monday to raise money to help children suffering from bone disease.
Coastguards had pleaded in vain with 28-year-old Dale Austin to postpone his attempt to swim to Gull Rock and back because of the dangerous sea conditions.
Mr Austin, who runs the Retreat cafe overlooking the beach at Portreath, decided on the sponsored swim after receiving a call out of the blue from the charity Strongbones, which helps children suffering from bone disease - from brittle bones to cerebral palsy.
He said: "I had two nephews, Ben and Alex, who lived very short lives because they were born with cerebral palsy. When I got the call, it was a lovely day. The sea was calm and the sun was out, so I decided to swim to Gull Rock."
But the Indian summer was over in Portreath and on the eve of the fundraiser, coastguards had asked Mr Austin to shelve the swim for safety reasons.
Following a good luck kiss from his 28-year-old wife, Andrea, he took the plunge on Monday afternoon under the watchful gaze of the men who had warned of the potential dangers that lay ahead.
"It's choppy out there with a 6ft groundswell and a changeable wind," said a coastguard. "But he's doing a brilliant job under the conditions."
Coastguards watched for 25 minutes as the lone swimmer battled his way through the heavy surf and neared the foot of Gull Rock.
"This is the most dangerous time," one of the coastguards told his colleagues from their vantage point at the beachside car park in Portreath.
"He's nearly there. He's on - you beauty!"
With gulls circling the rock that juts out of the sea around half-a-mile from the shore, Mr Austin clambered to the summit where he celebrated completing the first leg of his charity stunt.
After diving back into the breakers crashing against the rock, his family breathed a sigh of relief.
His mum, Sharon, had hoped to accompany her son there but had been defeated by the strength of the surf.
With more and more well-wishers gathering to cheer the end of the challenge, Mr Austin arrived back on dry land.
"The trickiest part was re-entry from the rock," he said. "But I was delighted that just on the way back to the cafe I raised another £50 on top of the pledges of £150 for the charity."
A spokesman for Strongbones Children's Charitable Trust said: "This was a very brave feat from a very courageous man. Without people like Dale, it would be hard for us to support the number of children that we do."
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