An Indian tourist was rescued after going for a drunken swim at 4.30am.

The long-haired bearded man, who was not named at the time, had been drinking beer with his girlfriend for the night on the beach.

But he decided to go for a swim in the early hours of the morning and immediately got into difficulty.

Passers-by swam out to rescue the holidaymaker. They pulled him ashore just in time and he was filmed slowly coming round on the sand.

Paramedics took him to hospital.

The man's partner Jindarat Janchum, 22, who is seen in the clip, said she did not know the man's name.

She said: ''We were drinking beers together on the beach and he said he wanted to swim. I said 'no, it's not good to do that'. But he wanted to.

''He walked out and started to swim but then went under the surface. It is lucky there were lots of good people around that came to help him.''

Volunteer rescue workers arrived and took the Indian man on a stretcher to hospital where he is recovering. He did not have ID on him at the time.