TWO beachgoers who saved the life of a man who jumped from Durdle Door into the water below have spoken out about the “horrendous” moment they feared he wouldn't survive.

Paddleborder Mike Wiley and Yasmin, a health care assistant and support worker, rushed to help Ervin Aliaj, 20, after he jumped from the arch at the beauty spot at the end of May.

Ervin broke his ribs from the impact of hitting the water and was told he was lucky to be able to walk following the incident as he could have broken his back.

In a video posted by LadBible in association with the RNLI, Mike said: “As soon as I surfaced, I looked at the guy, and there was this blood coming out of his mouth. He was purple. None of us thought he was going to survive. It was just horrendous. I just thought he was dead.

“I decided to swim out, just in case anything bad happened. And then I saw one person climbing on the ridge. The whole beach egging him on to jump, and yeah, he hit the water like a belly flop.

“(It) Knocked him unconscious and he sunk right to the bottom.”

He added: “When I finally reached him, he was just in the sea kelp at the bottom. He was just there on his back and his hands were floating.”

Yasmin said: “As I got there, I screamed to call for 999. So, we started immediately with CPR, his lips were going blue. It was just a horrific kind of sight.

“He was still unconscious and not breathing until the first paramedic turned up. Calling 999 immediately, it’s the difference from saving a life and not saving a life, it is that crucial.

“Had someone not called, we didn’t have any equipment, we didn’t have a defibrillator, so we would not have been able to revive him purely on CPR.”

Following the incident, Ervin thanked Mike for saving his life.

Ervin said: "I jumped off the cliff and hit the water quite bad. I felt paralysed. Mike saved me and got me out of there. I got in the ambulance and was taken to hospital where I went straight to have an X-ray to see if I had broken my back, which luckily I hadn't.

"My ribs had been broken from the impact of hitting the water. Doctors said I am really lucky to be able to walk because if I had landed on my back I would have broken it.

"I feel so grateful towards Mike. He saved my life."