Woman saved from Gwithian rip current searches for rescuers

A woman who was rescued from drowning in the sea is trying to find two teenagers who "saved her life".

Sue Ball, 59, got caught in a flash rip current while swimming off Gwithian, west Cornwall, on Wednesday.

She was between the RNLI red and yellow flags but said conditions suddenly changed and she was dragged out and battered by waves "in all directions".

Ms Ball said two "calm, confident" young teenage boys held on to her until a lifeguard was able to reach her.

She said: "One minute I could see the beach and then it disappeared. There were waves coming in all directions, it changed dramatically.

"I was so weak, so panicked - I thought 'I am going to drown'."

Ms Ball, who is local and a regular sea swimmer, said she had a good grasp of sea safety and had been shocked at the impact of the "freak flash rip".

She said two boys, who could be as young at 12 or 13, "came out of nowhere" and bravely stayed with her in the "scary" conditions, despite having no boards.

Ms Ball said: "One said: 'Grab hold of my shoulder, if you want to push me down to stay afloat then do, I will come back up I promise'.

"They were cool as cucumbers and seemed like strong swimmers."

An RNLI lifeguard had been alerted on the shore and managed to then reach her.

By this time she was "too weak" to get on the rescue board so held on to it while the lifeguard helped her back through the waves to the beach.

Ms Ball said: "I hugged her and said thank you for being there."

She said she was on a mission to track down the two boys who saved her life so she could thank them properly.

"If it wasn't for them I definitely, definitely wouldn't be here," she said.

Her daughter Lisa, 36, said she was really grateful for the "phenomenal" actions of the "confident" boys.

"I could have lost my mum last night," she said.

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