British paddleboarder Scott Seddon was filmed laughing and joking with a close friend as he emerged from the sea, just minutes before he was struck and killed by lightning.
The keen sportsman, 26, died shortly after emerging from the water during what appeared to be clear weather on the Greek island of Rhodes.
The video shows Scott looking athletic and clearly very happy, and gives no hint that he was in any apparent danger with a previous storm that appears to have passed.
It was handed over to MailOnline by his devastated family who want it made public to show that Scott had left the sea when the incident occurred and was not acting recklessly.
Scott’s heartbroken mother said he had been having “the time of his life” before his tragic death in the freak accident Monday afternoon, when, she said, “God just decided to take him.”
Video taken moments before Scott Seddon was struck by lightning shows him pulling his paddle board out of the sea.
The video shows Scott looking athletic and clearly very happy with no indication that he was in any apparent danger as an earlier storm appeared to have passed.
Initial reports from Greece had suggested that Scott died while at sea during a thunderstorm in Agia Agathi when his close friend Anna Vidamour, 24, begged him to come inside.
But Scott’s mother and father, who were in the ambulance as paramedics tried to save his life, said an earlier storm appeared to have passed and sunlight was breaking through the clouds.
They noted that the video shows there was no indication of imminent lightning when it returned to the beach Monday afternoon.
His family insist that the experienced boarder Scott knew the dangers of the sea or the weather in Greece, where they used to live for years before returning to Liverpool.
His father Stephen, 68, said: “We have lived in Greece for the last 30 years.
Know the water and respect the water. He wasn’t some dumb tourist hopping on a board to go somewhere dangerous.
He laughed coming out of the water. They put the canoes on the shore and stood on the support and hugged each other.
“He was not in danger and he was not swept out of the water.”
Scott’s mother described him as a “beautiful” and “flamboyant” man who loved the sea. “He would catch octopuses and feed them to the locals,” she said.
Anna Vidamour (pictured), who is known to regularly visit the Greek island with Scott, was reportedly devastated by the events.
Scott, who lived with his sister Layla and father Steve in a large bungalow in Liverpool, was described by close friends as a “lovely boy” and “very popular”.
The avid athlete, who had trained to be a civil engineer and worked in the construction industry, spoke Greek and was a regular visitor to the family’s vacation home.
“He was not a tourist and he knew and respected the water,” his father said.
“The locals loved him and he went to school there.
‘We are devastated. We will never get over your loss.
Anna, 24, from Belfast, who was close to Scott but was not dating him (he was due on another trip to visit his girlfriend soon), had taken the video just five minutes before he was beaten.
Scott’s mother, Jackie, 56, told MailOnline: “They came out of the water and they were so happy to be out of the water.”
Scott was a keen sportsman who had been having “the time of his life” before his tragic death, according to his mother.
They were laughing and he asked his friend to take the video because there was no danger.
“They lowered the board and lightning struck him in the back of the head.
Scott didn’t have any metal on him, just two small earrings.
‘It seemed that the storm was gone, the danger was over.
‘It was just a freak accident.
“He wasn’t on the board and I wasn’t close to him.
‘When Scott fell, he fell into the water. He was too heavy for Anna to lift, so a Brazilian came to help.
She added: ‘My son was out having the time of his life, and God just decided to take him away.
Scott grew up in Greece and went to school there before moving back to Liverpool (pictured as a boy on the beach)
Beachgoers and emergency services desperately tried to save the life of Mr Seddon (pictured surfing in July 2021), but were unable to revive him.
Lightning struck him in an instant. It was something terrible and sad what happened.
“I texted him not to come back and told him there was a storm coming so he was aware.”
Jackie and Stephen had come to pick him up to take him home but then they saw an ambulance.
Fighting back tears, his mother said: “As we got closer to the ambulance, I saw my son’s foot.
‘I saw Anna and she told me: ‘He has been beaten.’
Mr Seddon (pictured), who lived with his sister Layla and father Steve in a large bungalow in Liverpool, was described by close friends as a “lovely and very popular chap”.
I was thinking that he had been hit by a car or a boat. Stephen was on the ground in the ambulance crying: “he is my son”.
The family in the ambulance and Stephen helped give CPR to their son, whom the family nicknamed Elvis, before they reached the hospital.
Speaking in the family’s large bungalow, Jackie said: “They worked on it for an hour.
They gave him adrenaline. I begged them, “Please give him one more.”
So they gave him one more. They tried and they didn’t give up.
But it was gone. I asked the doctor if they had found water in his lungs because he didn’t know he had been struck by lightning.
Anna, 24, from Belfast, who was close to Scott but did not date him, took the video just five minutes before he was beaten.
She added: ‘Scott wasn’t scared. He was one of a kind to him, he was flamboyant. A beautiful blond boy.
“He would catch octopuses and feed them to the locals.”
Their sister Layla, 24, said: “When they came out of the water it was sunny.
‘When they were on their boards, they saw a bit of lightning, but when they went in, it was in the distance, it had already passed.
‘There was no crazy water or lightning. The danger was gone.
Her sister added: ‘I’m numb from losing him.
‘It doesn’t feel real. Everyone adored him.
The couple also posted new photos of Scott and his sister as children in tribute.
Scott planned to go surfing with his girlfriend in addition to running the bulls in Spain.
I am Rakesh Sharma, I associated with Elite News as an Editor, since 2021. I take care of all the news operations like content, budget, hiring and policy making.