Lifeguard kicks boy off diving board after he refuses to come down

An Austrian lifeguard, who apparently got tired of waiting for his diving board to free up, decided to take matters into his own hands - or feet - when he kicked a diver off the edge.

Most of us have probably experienced that moment of fear when standing at the top of a high diving board - even if it just seemed really high because you were a little kid.

It takes a lot of nerve to take that step off the edge, and sometimes it can take a while to build up to it.

That is, unless you've got this particular lifeguard behind you.

Footage of the scene filmed in Austria showed the young man clinging on to the barriers that surrounded the top of the diving board, clearly nervous about making the leap into the water below.

The lifeguard wasn't going to let nerves get in the way though, and used his leg to push the guy further and further towards the edge, until he was no longer able to hold on.

It's unclear how the lad felt after being pushed into the water, but according to witnesses of the scene the lifeguard decided to push him after he refused two different lifeguards' requests for him to come down off the ledge.

Steyrer Stadtbades, the authority in charge of the swimming pool where the incident took place, has since confirmed the lifeguard in the video worked for their company and that he did indeed did kick a man off the platform.

Facebook/Gabi Kwiatkowski

"SBS will do everything they can so that the Steyrer in the future can bring an enjoyable and comfortable time at Steyrer Stadtbad," the authority said in its statement.

"A lifeguard's job is to ensure the safety of customers. Therefore it is very regrettable that the lifeguard was involved with the fall.

"We are doing all we can to be clear of the circumstances."

SBS has met with people who were visiting the pool at the time of the incident, and apologised for the 'lapse in judgement' shown by the lifeguard involved.

According to Austrian publication OÖNachrichten, internal investigations are still ongoing within the company, with the lifeguard involved having taken time off from work following the incident.

Local authorities are also conducting an investigation into the events.

It's unclear exactly when the video of the incident was filmed, but it was shared on Facebook earlier this week and has since been viewed more than 28,000 times.