Matthew Harvey - an amateur diver faked his disappearance at sea triggering a massive rescue hunt involving 20 boats. Harvey, 35, was reported missing by his wife Katie on Saturday after he failed to return from a diving trip on the Channel Island of Guernsey.

The police and coastguards are considering whether to prosecute the man who was eventually found unconscious in the water on Monday evening.

Later he told about how he had survived in the icy waters for 56 hours. He said he was struck by a boat when he surfaced from a dive and then swept out to sea.

However a member of the public in England recognized Harvey from media coverage of his miraculous survival and contacted police. He told he had seen Harvey on land over the weekend.

The evidence revealed that he had not gone diving at all, but taken a ferry to England on Saturday for a secret weekend away. He returned on Monday, put his wetsuit on and swam out into the sea, waiting to be rescued.

The AFP quotes Guernsey harbour master Peter Gill, who organized the rescue operation as saying, "A hoax event like this is extremely rare .. He probably needs medical or psychiatric help."

However the fake diver said, "Money has been spent but no lives have been lost and that is the most important thing with search and rescue."

It remained unclear where exactly the man spent the weekend, or what his wife said on his return.