A MAN who emigrated from Emley to Australia has been hailed as a hero after he saved a fellow Brit from drowning.

Steve Woodhouse has been praised for saving a life after he battled strong rip currents to save a tourist.

The dramatic rescue unfolded when Steve, 49, and his wife Gail spotted a man in trouble in the ocean as they were filming dolphins near to their home in Esperance in western Australia.

Mr Woodhouse decided to jump into the notoriously dangerous waters and used his body board to keep the man afloat.

He and the man, later named as 24-year-old English tourist Joe Bowen, then battled the strong currents to get back to the shore.

It took the pair 20 minutes to get to dry land where they were met by police and paramedics.

The importance of Mr Woodhouse’s actions were brought home just three weeks later when a different English tourist drowned in the ocean near Esperance trying to save her partner.

After the rescue Mr Bowen revealed he had been swept off his feet by waves as he walked in shallow waters.

The Grimsby native said: “I wasn’t even swimming, I was just waist deep and got hit by a few waves and before I knew it I was in trouble.

“I’m 24 and physically fit but there was nothing I could do about it.

“There were children in the water as well so it was lucky it wasn’t one of them.

“All I can say is a massive thank you to Steve the Yorkshireman who saved me.

“I dread to think what would have happened if he hadn’t have been there.”

Mr Woodhouse’s mother, Iris Woodhouse, who lives in Emley, said: “I feel so proud of him.

“His wife didn’t want him to go in – she was frightened that he might drown.

“But my husband made sure our children could swim and he’s a good swimmer.

“But he said it still took him a long time to get him out.

“The fella he got out was over the moon because he would have drowned if it hadn’t been for Steven.”

Esperance is noted for its coastline and has been voted Australia’s best beaches, Australia’s whitest sand and Western Australia’s most popular beach.

But it is also home to the Cyclops wave, said by surfers to be the world’s heaviest wave with massive amounts of water unloading on shallow reef.

Mr Woodhouse was well known in the Emley and Grange Moor areas.

He worked in Park Mill and Denby Grange mines and played cricket for Emley.

He left the area for Esperance, near Perth, in 2011 and now works at the port.