Never off duty! Irish paramedic praised for saving life while on holiday in Morocco

An Irish paramedic has been praised for helping save the life of another man who got into difficulty while swimming in Morocco.

The National Ambulance Service has highlighted the heroic efforts of Paul Darby who was on holiday in Taghazout - a fishing village on Morocco's Atlantic coast - at the time.

"Even on holiday our Paramedics get calls!" joked a post on social media which goes on to describe how Paul, who is based in Loughlinstown, south Dublin, was initially alerted when he spotted a surfer paddling to help a local man who was in difficulty in the water.

"Together, they recovered him to shore, unconscious and not breathing. Thankfully, basic life support from Paul, with local assistance, meant that the patient was alert and breathing again on handover to the ambulance 35 minutes later."

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The National Ambulance Service has also shared a photograph of a 'present' which a little girl gave to Paul Darby after she witnessed the rescue.

The present is a stone from the beach with a hand-written message which reads 'tanks you'.

The quick-thinking actions of Paul Darby attracted considerable praise on social media.

"A great story Thank God for Paramedics Well Done Paul," wrote one user on Facebook while another wrote: "Well done Paul. Wonderful".