Sunderland forward Duncan Watmore has saved the lives of three holidaymakers following a boat accident in the Caribbean, according to the player's father.

The 23-year-old was on a fishing boat in Barbados when it was hit, and broken in two, by a catamaran.

The impact knocked Watmore and his partner overboard along with three elderly passengers, but he managed to haul them out of the water from the boat just before it sank.

In addition, Watmore used his T-shirt as a tourniquet to stem heavy bleeding from the legs of one of the passengers after pulling them to safety.

Ian Watmore is quoted by BBC News as saying: "They saw it and just assumed it was going to go round them and, when they realised it was coming straight at them, they started yelling and screaming but nothing changed. These catamarans are quite powerful and the blade just ripped the thing in half.

"All the guests were coming up to him and telling him what a hero he was and I think the whole thing was just very disorientating for him."

Watmore is currently sidelined from footballing action as he is recovering from an operation on a cruciate knee ligament injury.