Simon Cowell turned hero and helped save nine people from a sinking boat, his pal Sinitta has said.

The X Factor mogul was relaxing on his luxury yacht on the Mediterranean this week when he got word of the stricken vessel and snapped into action.

Sinitta told Twitter followers: “OMG!! Just had a May Day message, 35ft boat sinking. SC has sent us to help and rescue 9 people on board!”

According to the Star, Simon sent his tender vessel to help evacuate the people on board and had his staff use special equipment to help pump water out of the struggling boat.

The singer, a former girlfriend of Simon’s, later tweeted: “Everyone ok, no-one hurt. Captain won’t let boat sink, petrol in sea etc would cause major problems and fines. No tide, so hole plugged.”

An insider told the Star: “When the call came through no-one knew exactly how serious it was so everyone stopped what they were doing and went to help.

“Thankfully, everyone was ok and Simon’s team got there in time.”