A British holidaymaker has been hailed a hero for saving the life of a paraglider who crashed into the sea at a Turkish resort.
Mark Roberts, 72, was sunbathing on a beach in Olu Deniz, Dalaman, when he noticed a woman plummeting into the water as her parachute did not unfold.
The pensioner, a former safety driver and parachutist, quickly reached a nearby taxi boat to get to the scene and help the woman.
Once he got close to her, Mr Roberts dived into the sea and disentangled the woman's chute to bring her back to the surface.
The man, from Bangor, North Wales, knew the dangers of parachutists hitting the water at speed.
He told North Wales Live: "I was watching a potential horror unfold from the beach.
"The impact on the water could have knocked the stuffing out of her or worse. If she was under the canopy entwined in the scores of guy ropes and, panicking, they’d pull her down.
"Even worse, there was no one seemingly alert enough to jump to! She crashed far out to sea, too far to swim to help her, so I used a bit of persuasive shouting and bawling to get the attention of a somewhat startled skipper of a taxi-boat tied up close to the beach.
"True, it was more of a hijacking. I ordered the young lad to GO, GO, GO pointing in the direction of the capsized and sinking parachute which no-one else seemed to have noticed. Once he realised the urgency, he reacted brilliantly and we were with her in less than two minutes."
The holidaymaker said untangling the equipment "took a bit of effort" as he added: "I'm not as young as I used to be."
Talking about the paraglider, Mr Roberts said: "She was a very lucky lady. There were no other vessels around and I still don't think anyone on the beach happened to catch those last 30 seconds of her plummeting down under a collapsed canopy."
The woman, who was believed to be local, simply packed up her gear and left the beach but other witnesses hailed Mark's actions.
Ex Parachute Regiment Red Devils Freefall Team commander, Lieutenant Colonel Mike Muir said: "While it might seem that a fast and uncontrolled landing in water is probably safer than hitting the ground, it's not always the case. Fine if you are trained for it, but potentially a killer if you are not. Shock and disorientation can be killers.
"I've known Mark for years and am not surprised he jumped in - or dived in as the case might be. His knowledge of parachuting and experience in underwater diving was almost God-sent in this emergency."
One witness was retired Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Simon Cunneen, holidaying in the popular Olu Deniz resort east of Dalaman.
He said: "It wasn’t perhaps an act of heroism but 100 per cent praiseworthy for the speed of Mr Roberts' reaction in commandeering the speedboat, directing its driver and quickly recognising the perils the young lady was facing if he didn’t dive beneath her, untangle her, and extract her to the surface from her sinking ‘chute’. "
In 2010 Mark Roberts was employed as a safety diver to Hollywood superstar Demi Moore in the filming of "Half Light", a supernatural thriller on Llanddwyn Island, Anglesey.
He was himself rescued from a near-death diving drama in the Menai Strait when his co-diver Alan Williams was airlifted to decompression medical facilities on Merseyside.
Mr Roberts was part of the Red Devils Freefall Display Team’s "backroom" in the late 1970s and later in the 1990s when he was tasked to "re-brand" the internationally-famed army skydive display team.
