POLICE had to cordon off part of Salisbury city centre last week after a suspicious package was found at the Chipper Lane post office.

AN Egyptian man was saved from drowning by a former Salisbury schoolboy, who plucked him out of the sea off Cyprus.

Corporal Air Steward Mike Durnford (33), of the Royal Air Force, who went to Westwood St Thomas' School, was enjoying a day off with his colleagues in Limassol when the drama began unfolding.

He had been shopping in the town and was walking the few miles back to his hotel when he noticed a commotion going on near the sea wall and heard police sirens approaching from behind.

His father, Chris, who lives in St Gregory's Avenue, said his son's first thought was to see if he could help.

Cpl Durnford said: "I thought there might be some type of emergency occurring in the sea and ran across the road to investigate.

"A Cypriot man told me there were three men in difficulty in the sea - apparently one had gone for a swim and started drowning, one of his friends had gone in to help him and had also got into difficulty, and a third man had gone in to help the two and had also got into difficulty.

"As a former lifeguard, I knew the dangers involved and it was obvious that conditions in the choppy sea and breaking waves were quite treacherous.

"Venturing out on to the rocks, I saw a man's arm clutching a rock.

"I climbed down on to a submerged rock and entered the sea, pulled the man out and positioned him on the rocks to assess his condition.

"Two policemen helped me carry the man to the sea wall and lay him on his back.

"He wasn't breathing properly and as we checked his airway, he began coughing up water and blood.

"After ensuring he was able to breathe, I protected the man's head from the rocks and assessed him again.

"I noticed lots of cuts and bleeding from the man's head, arms and legs but, as the injuries did not appear serious, placed him in the recovery position.

"I continued to monitor and assess him for about ten minutes until an ambulance arrived, liaised with the crew, briefed them on the situation, controlled the lift on to a stretcher and assisted them in getting the casualty into the ambulance."

The man rescued by Cpl Durnford was 26-year-old Salama Sam Ragient Soliman.

His friends were 20-year-olds Alla Ibrahim Rezu, who died, and Salamh Ehab, who was taken to Limassol General Hospital's intensive care unit.