The brave grandad who died rescuing his young granddaughter in the sea saved three people from the dangerous currents, his family said last night.
Eddy Moore, 43, hoisted 18-month Keely Moore above his head then urged rescuers who swam to help to "take the girls first" as his daughter Shauna and her friend Hayley, both 11, struggled to reach the beach.
His devastated son Tony, Keely's dad, said tearfully: "He died a real hero. He'd have done anything to save the girls and thanks to him they are still with us.
"We just can't believe he lost his own life rescuing them. He didn't just save one life, my little sister and her friend may not have come back if it hadn't been for him."
Tony's mum Margaret, 43 - who was divorced from ground worker Eddy - said: "He always looked after his family so it was just like him to save the girls."
Elvis fan Eddy moved to England from Belfast 20 years ago and settled in Southampton. He had driven the girls to Lepe beach in nearby Calshot on Sunday.
They were playing ball on a sandbank when it suddenly became submerged as the tide surged in. Eddy managed to hand screaming Keely to a rescuer before he disappeared under the water.
It emerged last night that he died knowing the girls were safe. Onlooker Helen Whitehouse, whose husband Nick helped the rescue, said: "Eddy started breathing again for a few moments after being given mouth-to-mouth. My husband told him his family were safe and he nodded at him."
Tony, 21, revealed Eddy, his best man when he married wife Sam in 2005, was to be a grandad for the second time and that the boy would be named after him in his honour.
Tony said: "It's a small way of letting that fantastic man live on."
Mirror
