A fisherman on Matata Beach in New Zealand spotted what he thought was a doll floating past him, but realised that it was a baby when it “let out a little squeak”.

Fisherman Gus Hutt, who was staying at Murphy’s Holiday Cam in Matata, pulled the baby out of the water, and raised the alarm at the camp. There was only one family staying there at the time and the baby was soon reunited with his parents.

Mr Hutt told the New Zealand Herald: "His face looked just like porcelain with his short hair wetted down, but then he let out a little squeak and I thought ‘oh God this is a baby and it’s alive’.

"He was bloody lucky, but he just wasn't meant to go, it wasn't his time."

The baby had escaped from his parents' tent by undoing the zipper, and then made his way into the ocean.

The baby's mother "screamed" when she was informed that her baby had been found in the water.

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