A 12-year-old boy saved two men from drowning in the sea at Exmouth.

Archie Taylor, from the town, was celebrating his 12th birthday and surfing off the beach when he spotted two men getting dragged out by a rip tide.

After hearing their shouts for help, the youngster without hesitation, paddled out to them and gave them his surfboard.

Treading water himself, Archie calmed the men down and got them back to dry land.

Once the men had hold of the surfboard Archie waved his arms to get help from the nearby lifeguards on duty in the hut.

Archie’s mum, Jenny Taylor also noticed and started calling for help from the lifeguards along with other onlookers on the beach.

The lifeguard thanked Archie for his brave efforts and pulled the men to safety.

Archie is an avid surfer, and by starting at the age of three, so he has a good idea of how to stay safe at sea.

The on-call lifeguards thanked Archie for his brave efforts by spotting the man in danger and pulling them to safety.

They were both unharmed in the incident.

Jenny Taylor, Archie’s mum, told the Journal: "We are so proud of Archie taking the initiative to help these two men he did everything he could without hesitation.

"We were both incredibly proud of Archie's bravery and initiative he did not hesitate to help and made all the right decisions.”

Archie Taylor said: “I saw the men were in danger and knew they needed help. I went out to them and tried to calm them down as I could see they were panicking.”

The RNLI and lifeguard service offer advice to people enjoying the sea this summer, where there will be flags on the beach to show you where it’s safe to swim.

If you’re planning to swim or bodyboard, stay between the red and yellow flags, they said.

For surfboards, stand-up paddleboards or other non-powered craft, go between the black and white chequered flag. You should not swim there.

If a red flag is flying, the water is dangerous. Do not enter under any circumstances.