The heartbroken dad of a young man who died in Loch Doon has hailed the heroes who risked their own lives to try and save his son.
Scott Ferries, 24, from Ayr suffered from cold water shock after his kayak ‘capsized’ in the East Ayrshire beauty spot last week.
Dad James Ferries, 51, has told how his nephew and Scott’s cousin Jordan Ferries raced with his pals to cries for help.
The group leaped onto their paddle boards and headed out to the spot where Scott was and hauled him out.
Jordan has since told how he did not realise the man he was saving was his cousin until noticing tattoos in the moment he was about to give CPR.
James told Ayrshire Live: “My nephew and his two friends were on the other side camping.
“When they saw what was happening Jordan’s two friends jumped in with his paddle board and got Scott out.
“I now class them as my heroes - they risked their own lives to go in and try and save my son.
“They never knew who it was they were saving until they pulled him out. His cousin was there standing with them, it made everything even more painful.
“I’ve since spoken to one of the boys, it has really affected him but he told me he wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.
“I’ll be forever indebted to them, there are no words to thank them for what they have done.”
Scott was out with a friend on the kayak who managed to survive the tragedy after dumping his jacket which was pulling him under the water.
James said: “They were sitting there having a carry on, as all boys do, within minutes it ended up becoming a tragic accident.
He added: “Scott’s friend had a big jacket on, it started to pull him down.
“He wrestled with every bit of strength trying to hold on to the kayak, and they had started to manage to get further in.
“But the cold water was taking over, Scott then didn’t want to leave his kayak and went back out to get it — he his friend told me ‘I couldn’t stop him then I couldn’t help him’.
“If he never tried to recover the kayak, he might have survived.
“His friend was absolutely devastated, they knew each other from the garage and were close pals.”
You can donate to the fundraiser to help Scott's family here.
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