RNLI release 999 call after Sussex teens save elderly couple from drowning

• ITV Meridian reporter Charlotte Wilkins has been to speak to the teenagers involved in the rescue

A group of teenagers who helped to rescue an elderly couple off the coast of Hastings are fronting a new campaign to warn people of the dangers of the water.

The group were sunbathing at Harbour Arm when they saw a couple struggling in the water in September 2021.

They calmly called the coastguard on 999 and threw a life ring to them and pulled the couple onto the rocks.

Millie Marchant was 15 at the time and was one member of the group that rushed to help.

She said: "I ran into the lifeboat house and was banging on the door trying to get someone's attention.

"No-one answered me so I ran to the pub and they then told me to call 999 so I did and the the lifeboat was sent out very quickly."

Luckily Millie had been part of a scouting group and said she had been taught what to do in an emergency.

She added: "There was a lot of adrenaline rushing through me and I was thinking 'these people need some help we've got to save them'."

There was a "sense of relief" when they were saved.

The group is now fronting a new RNLI campaign in Sussex to warn people of the dangers of drowning in the sea.

Last year, 277 people drowned accidentally in UK and half were during summer months with cold water shock often being a major factor.

The campaign is urging people to fight their instincts to jump into water to help people in distress and instead call 999.

Gabbi Batchelor, from the RNLI said: "What they did was absolutely fantastic.

"It was perfect, they did the exact thing we're asking everyone to do. They put their safety first and that's so important."