The St. David's woman hailed a heroine after rescuing a drowning man at the weekend has claimed that any adequate swimmer would have done the same.

Yesterday Gillian Kinsey, 36, said that she has known how to life save since her father first taught her to swim but never had to use the skills before.

She had been sitting on a bench on Ordnance Island, St. George's with a friend in the early hours of Sunday morning when they saw the 57-year-old man dive into the ocean.

“We were sitting at the side of the water and heard a splash and we followed him along the shore,” she said.

“We thought it was a bit strange for someone to jump into the water at 1.30 in the morning.

“He stopped and was face down in the water so I jumped in.”

Ms Kinsey said she did not hesitate when she dove into the water because she realised that the man would die if he was just left.

“When I started swimming (near him) he was vomiting a lot.

“He stopped and went unconscious and in the meantime my friend went to call the ambulance. While this was going on I put him in the rescue position.

“It wasn't difficult trying to swim with him because people are pretty buoyant in the water.”

However she said it was tiring, “because there was no way to climb out of the water”.

“I swam to a yacht and perched us both on the anchor rope. I just screamed until someone came.”

Ms Kinsey said that people who had gathered around helped pull her and the man safely to shore.

On Sunday Police spokesman Dwayne Caines said that the woman's quick-thinking and selfless actions may have saved the man's life.

Last night the man was listed in stable condition in a general ward.