Victorian teenager Lachlan Edwards has been praised after he swam to the rescue of two people caught in a rip at Point Impossible Surf Beach in the state's southwest.
Lachlan, 15, had already rescued a man from about 70 metres offshore at about 7pm (AEDT) on Saturday when two policemen on patrol noticed him struggling to support a woman in the water.
One of the policeman, Leading Senior Constable Justin Joseph, stripped to his underpants, ran into the water and swam out to Lachlan and the woman.
He approached the pair where he was told by Lachlan that he had already rescued one man and had then attempted to rescue the woman, but he was exhausted and was having difficulty getting back to shore.
The policeman reassured the youth and between them they managed to get the woman back to dry land.
The two officers were told that prior to their arrival, a Whittington man got caught in the rip and the woman swam out to help him back to shore.
The woman also got into difficulties and Lachlan went into the water to help them.
The man and the woman were both taken to hospital and Lachlan was treated by Ambulance Victoria at the scene.
Sen Cons Joseph said that Lachlan did a fantastic job and things could have been a lot worse if he had not intervened.
"I'm sure that if it had not been for Lachlan these people would have more than likely drowned," he said.
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