QUEEZING through a mud-drenched cave to help rescue 12 boys stranded in its depths was the hardest mission of an expert diver’s life.

Tim Acton, 39, took oxygen tanks to the schoolboys and their football coach in the Thai cave where they were trapped in darkness for 18 days from June 23.

Harwich and Manningtree Standard:

Efforts - Time and his family 

In his other crucial role to carry stretchers in and out of the cave, Tim was one of the first people to see the boys come out alive.

Tim, who moved to Thailand 12 years ago, has returned to his family home in Wrabness to share his humbling experience of being part of the historic rescue mission.

He said: “You could not write what had happened and what we all saw. No one had ever thought of this situation possibly happening before.

“This was the hardest and most stressful cave rescue to take place in history.”

Tim, who runs a hotel in Bangkok and an oil business in Wrabness, was asked to join the rescue operation in Tham Luang cave by former colleagues in the country’s Navy Seals.

Harwich and Manningtree Standard:

Rescue - Tim and divers from the cave rescue mission in Thailand

The day before Tim joined the team, Thai Navy Seal Saman Kunan suffocated to death after delivering essential supplies to the boys.

Tim said: “I arrived the day after the Navy Seal died, and everyone was already so close and were affected by his death.

“But they were really professional people and stayed very calm and turned even more motivated to get the boys out of the cave.”

Tim was part of the rescue for about five days carrying oxygen tanks and stretchers to get the weakened boys out of the cave.

He said his wife Kanchana and daughter Amylia, ten, wanted to do what they could to help with the rescue. He said: “My daughter and wife followed me up and Amylia wanted to dive with me.

“She couldn’t, but when the divers came out she gave them her homemade soap so they could clean themselves.

“No-one was able to do any shopping so my wife was running errands and getting them food too.”

Remarkably, all of the boys and their coach were brought out of the cave safe and well despite freak weather flooding the cave and many of the youngsters not being able to swim.

Tim said: “It was an amazing feeling when the boys came out and the divers all came out too.

“One of the great things I also saw was how people from the community came together to help each other. It was amazing to see and my faith was restored in humanity.”

After the rescue Tim’s knee swelled up to the size of a balloon as he had aggravated an old sports injury during the rescue.

He added: “Everything was very muddy and slippery in the caves and the twisting of my knee during the mission was the final straw.”

The surgeon operating on it recognised him from a news report and informed the staff he was part of the rescue efforts.

Tim said: “All the doctors were coming round to thank me and I felt very humbled. I just went there to help with the rescue but I did not

have a huge part. It was overwhelming.”

Tim is fundraising to support the family of retired Navy Seal Saman Gunan who died during the mission.

To sponsor them click here.