A beachgoer has been labelled a "hero" after he helped to rescue two sisters who got caught in a whirlpool during a Christmas swim at the seaside.
Tyla Reid, 22, leapt into action after he noticed the girls getting into difficulty in the sea off St Kilda Beach in Melbourne, Australia on Boxing Day.
He told 9 News he had been walking along the popular tourist beach with his friend when he saw members of the mounted police standing near a sea wall.
As he approached the officers' horses to pat them, Tyla suddenly noticed "two heads" yelling for help from the other side of the wall - and quickly moved to rescue them.
"I pretty much dropped my backpack and went straight into the water", he said.
Tyla swam about 30 metres out towards them and pulled one of the girls to safety, while Acting Sergeant Samantha Christian and Leading Senior Constable Emma Sharp from the mounted police tended to the other.
The sisters aged 10 and 11 were then checked over by paramedics before being taken back to their mother, who was also on the beach.
Local media have since described the young man as a "hero" and have spoken to the two mounted officers involved in the incident, which reportedly resulted from a 'whirlpool' in the water.
Recalling the quickfire rescue operation, Acting Sergeant Christian said: "We looked over and we could see there were two girls bobbing in the waves and the surf,"
"We rode to the water's edge and made the quick decision Emma and I would hop off.
She added that the pair were clearly "in danger" and were "putting their arms up to try and signal" before being rescued.
The incident came amid a wave of water-related rescue incidents over the festive weekend in Australia, where Christmas Day and Boxing Day are celebrated as public holidays in the middle of summer.
Almost 350 people had to be rescued from the sea on Boxing Day alone in New South Wales after tens of thousands of people turned up at the state's beaches, including a 70-year-old woman who was hospitalised after being pulled from the water at Shelly Beach.
