This is the heartwarming moment a beachgoer rescues a stranded thornback ray that was trapped in shallow waters off the coast of Tasmania, Australia.

John Wilkins noticed the creature, also called a thornback skate, while it was in stuck in a few inches of water in Cygnet Bay on July 7.

The juvenile creature appeared to be lifeless and weak, with its body touching the hard stones on the sea bed.

But caring John gently petted the ray, lifted its nose, fed it some pieces of fish and picked it up so it could swim away.

Australian John Wilkins said that the skate had followed their boat after catching some fish.

He said: "It appeared to follow the boat to shore. We tossed some of the leftover pieces of the fish it had been eating around to see if it had come in to shore to follow its meal, but it wasn't interested."

John helped the skate swim back to deeper water. He said that adult skates that are about two metres wide come to the shallow parts of the bay during winter.