Perth, Western Australia August 18, 2007 Home News Time Out Letters Write a Letter Classifieds Search Real Estate Trades & Services Submit About Contact Us Advertising Legal	Waitress rescues swimmer Waitress Victoria Coleclough swapped her apron for a surfboard to rescue a man caught in a rip on North Cottesloe Beach. Picture: Billie Fairclough In between serving meals and coffee in north Cottesloe last weekend, Victoria Coleclough managed to squeeze in a life-saving rescue. When the Mosman Park student saw a man struggling in the water on Saturday afternoon, she ran down to the beach, ditched her apron and shoes, grabbed a rescue board and ran into the water in her uniform. "I was upstairs working on the balcony at Barchetta and two women I had been serving alerted me to the man caught in the rip," the 18-year-old said. "I left work and ran down to the beach to check out what was happening. "There was a woman on the beach, who was the man's wife, and she was really distressed. "They were on holidays from England and had their kids with them. The dad was having difficulty in the water. "I ran up to the (North Cottesloe) surf club and yelled out for a lifeguard, but there was nobody around. "The surf shed was open so I grabbed a surf rescue board and headed out." The UWA fine arts student, who completed a bronze surf medal at Cottesloe Surf Life Saving Club last year, said the 37-year-old man was about 30m from the shore. "He was on the reef and there was a big swell and he was getting dumped," she said. "He had been caught for about 10 minutes and was so exhausted that he was finding it hard to get out. "It was hard for me to get out there because the waves were coming at me. When I got to him I put him on the board and had to push my way out of the rip. "I pulled him into the shore and a doctor, who had been walking by, was there to help. "The man had hypothermia and was in shock. We put blankets around him and an ambulance came." Victoria said she didn't have time to think about what she was doing. "It just came naturally - I didn't even think about it. I didn't notice how cold the water was, I had so much adrenalin," she said. "Afterwards, it hit me and I was quite emotional about it. I kept going over it in my head and thinking: 'What if something bad happened?' I think I was also in shock. "The man was okay. I called Fremantle Hospital later and they said he was doing well." She said the rescue had inspired her to get back into life-saving training for the summer. "You do these things, but you never really think you will use the skills you learn," she said. "I never thought I'd ever do something like this. It feels good." Do you have something to say? Write to us and we may publish your letter next week. BACK TO TOP < PREVIOUS - HOME - NEXT> Copyright © 1999 - 2008 Post Newspapers Pty Ltd. All rights reserved.