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An exhausted Channel swimmer helped pluck three migrants from a sinking kayak as he returned from his epic crossing in a pilot boat.
Builder Justin Legge, 49, had just swum the 31-mile stretch in 11 hours 36 minutes and was on his way back to Dover with his escort team when they spotted the flimsy inflatable drifting midway between France and England.
Only designed for two, the leisure inflatable was filling with water and sinking with three young men on board.
"They were waving their t-shirts to attract attention and when we got closer we could see their kayak was filling with water and they were in trouble," said dad-of-two Mr Legge, who lives in Bridge, near Canterbury.
"Our pilot radioed the coastguard, who said that as we were closest we should pick them up until the Border Force could come out.
"We waited a bit but it was clear no one was coming to their rescue and they were going to sink. So our pilot took the decision to bring them on board, although he made sure they put on gloves and masks.
"They didn't seem to be able to speak any English apart from saying they were from north Africa."
The rescue happened on Thursday afternoon after Mr Legge, whose father was the late stand-up comedian Dave Lee, had taken on the Channel swim to raise money for Blood Cancer UK in memory of a friend, Tim Pryor, who died from leukaemia in April.
"I have to say I was pretty exhausted, having ended up swimming more than 30 miles to get to Cap Griz-Nez because of the currents," he said.
"It was pretty scary setting off in the dark just after midnight when the sea was quite rough and there were quite a few jellyfish and seals about.
"I just wanted to get home and didn't expect we'd be bringing back migrants, but they would have probably drowned if we had left them because there was no one else for miles."
Also on board the pilot boat was Mr Legge's wife, Charlotte, who runs a wedding planning business.
She said: "We gave them water and sat them at the other end of our boat and towed their kayak in with us.
"They didn't say anything and were aged probably between just 18 and 21."
A crowd of family and friends waving Union Jack flags were eagerly waiting on the shore for the boat, but it was first diverted while Border Force officials took away the migrants at the marina shortly before 4pm.
Mr Legge said: "'It was very strange. I know these sorts of crossings are a daily occurrence now but I never thought I'd see something like that first-hand."
The flood of migrants crossing the Channel in flimsy craft to get to the UK has accelerated significantly in the fine weather in recent weeks, prompting another pledge of a crackdown by the Government.
So far Justin's swim has raised more than £24,000 for Blood Cancer UK, smashing his £10,000 target.
To support his effort, click here.
