A GRIEVING woman told last night how her fiancee died a hero in a freak boating tragedy only days after he proposed to her.

Jane Trainor, from Redcar, east Cleveland, had hoped to be able to wave from the beach to her partner, Peter Blount, who had gone on a one-off fishing trip with two friends last Sunday morning.

But she never caught sight of the trio, who got into difficulty after their boat's engine failed and took on water 600 yards off South Gare, near Redcar.

Mr Blount, 47, from Redcar, and his best friend, Bernard Powell, 56, from Stokesley, North Yorkshire, died at sea.

Twenty-year-old Philip Ridout, a friend of Ms Trainor's daughter and a carpet fitter from the London area, survived, but suffered serious leg injuries.

Mr Blount had owned the cabin cruiser for seven months when it was swamped by a freak wave.

Ms Trainor said: "I can't believe I was at home, only hundreds of yards away, as the boat filled with water and tilted backwards."

All three men fell into the water and desperately tried to cling on to the end of the boat that was sticking out of the sea.

Former nurse Ms Trainor described how her fiancee and Mr Ridout fought to save Mr Powell, who suffered from asthma.

Their attempts to attract attention failed and it was five hours before rescue services reached the men after they were seen by two teenagers walking along the shoreline.

"Bernie died after three hours, but by that time Peter and Philip were starting to suffer from hypothermia and it was too late for them to swim to shore," she said.

"Pete died trying to save his best friend, Bernie, a thoroughly nice man, and I'm very, very proud of him.

"Pete and Philip were exceptional swimmers but they wouldn't leave Bernard.

"They are both heroes.

"Philip can see our pain and he has been suffering from terrible flashbacks. It's been very hard for him."

Mr Blount, who had two sons, Graham, 23, and Ross, 27, had proposed to Ms Trainor on April 14 - her birthday.

Ms Trainor said: "I would ask everyone to give the people they love a huge hug, because at this point in time I would give everything I own to give Pete just one more cuddle."

An inquest into the deaths was opened at Teesside Coroner's Court, and adjourned to allow the circumstances of the boating tragedy to be investigated.