NEARLY 40 years ago there was a big controversy when the seafront Royal Hotel at Teignmouth began specialising in holidays for mentally handicapped guests.

But four of the carers made headlines for being heroes when they saved the life of a local man swimming off the main beach.

They were supervising a party of patients when they spotted a middle-aged man floating apparently lifeless in the sea.

Nurse Angie McDonald, 23, rushed into the water and dragged him onto the beach.

While the hotel disc jockey Tom Buxton gave the man the kiss of life, Angie and two colleagues, Julie Onley and Dick Easter, successfully revived him with artificial respiration.

He was rushed to the intensive care unit at Torbay Hospital and made a good recovery.

Angie said: ‘He was face down in the water when I got there and was not moving at all. He had gone blue and I thought he was dead.

‘His breathing and heart had stopped and it took a few minutes to bring him around. It was touch and go.’

The nurses were all from the Cell Barnes Hospital, St Albans, Herts, and were due to return home after a week in the resort.

The rescued man was Kenneth Davey, 53, of Grove Avenue, who was swimming on his own.

His wife said she was extremely grateful for the swift actions of the nurses and would be writing to thank them.

Footnote: the hotel’s new policy caused a storm in 1982, and the Teignbridge planning officer Notel Dann, was even drawn into the controversy when he told a neighbouring hotelier who had queried whether planning and other regulations were being complied with, that he was ‘sickened in the way that human beings can respond to matters such as this.

‘This planning authority will not involve itself in any campaign to exclude under privileged groups from enjoyment of an annual holiday, because there is not limit to the way in which attitudes will influence the enjoyment of other minority groups.

‘The argument has been brought forward that its use by the disabled will affect the viability of Teignmouth as a holiday resort. Please understand that tourism is changing dramatically and the present use of the Royal Hotel is a fact of that change and a cause for it.

‘Many establishments in the holiday industry have to specialise to survive and this is simply one of the those specialisations. The people coming to the Royal Hotel are on holiday; they are transient and do not occupy the hotel as a home or institution.

‘The degree of intolerance being expressed in Teignmouth will not be tolerated by this authority.’

The letter to Mr Dann came from Stuart Wallace of the Bay Hotel who declared: ‘Mr Dann is offering his personal opinion as if it was council policy.

‘His job is to deal with planning matters and leave the elected representatives to decide what is council policy

‘I was amazed and annoyed at the tone of the letter. I merely inquired whether the fire officer was happy that the fire regulations were being complied with in view of the type of guests now staying there, and if consent for a change of use was necessary.

‘It is the safety of the handicapped people I am concerned about because I do not think the hotel is the right place for them to be in an emergency’.

Mr Dann added: ‘One of my officers gave Mr Wallance a professional opinion about planning matters regarding the Royal Hotel, and Mr Wallace then asked me if I agreed with the advice

‘I told him I did and put my point of view on the issue. Mr Wallace has got involved with a very emotive subject and I do not think he should use this planning authority to settle this severe moral problem.’

The Royal was Teignmouth’s top hotel for decades, and the Beatles stayed there while filming the Magical Mystery Tour. Later it was converted into flats for the elderly.