Swimmer's search for teens who saved her from drowning in riptide on Cornwall beach

A woman from Hayle is searching for two teenagers who saved her life after she was dragged out to sea while swimming in Cornwall.

Sue Ball was with two of her friends' grandchildren as they took their bodyboards into the water.

They stayed in the designated RNLI lifeguard patrolled zone - between the red and yellow flags - but were caught by a sudden rip current.

Waves crashed over Sue's head from multiple directions as she was pulled away from the beach - and far out of her swimming comfort zone.

"I looked down and could see the outline of the waves bringing out sand," Sue said. "When you see the sand being lifted it looks like something's wrong.

"I figured, because we were in the flags, we were okay. One of the kids went a bit further out and then everything changed in a split second.

"Being dragged out like that - it's weird. One minute you have normal waves then in a split second you have a wave over your head. I was out of my depth, and the rip currents were separating us."

Sue managed to keep the children on their boards but was quickly getting tired.

She said: "I was panicking and getting tired. Which didn’t help. I had just seen people on the beach vanish from sight and I was drinking a lot of seawater.

"I raised my hand to try for help but was worried people might just think I was waving."

A lifeguard had spotted the trio and raised the alarm, though it was still going to take some time to get in to help her.

But Sue noticed two teenage boys heading towards her in the water, and the pair caught up to Sue and the two children and offered their help.

Sue said: "They seemed really confident in the water, they came out of nowhere.

"One of the boys came over and kept me afloat and the other held onto the bodyboards. They said that if I needed to push them down to stay afloat I should. It seemed like they must be locals, or lifeguard trained."

The boys stayed with Sue until the lifeguard arrived with a board to get her safely to shore.

By this point, she was so exhausted, she could not even lift herself out of the water.

She added: "I was so weak, the waves were just coming down over us. When we got out the lifeguard said that without the boys this could have gone much worse.

"I'm not the strongest swimmer, which is why I would never want to go out that far. Without them it would have been a different matter. I'd have gone under, it could have been bad."

Sue thanked the boys on the day but in the chaos on Wednesday (August 31) forgot to ask for their names.

She now wants to offer them a proper thank you and a small gift. She said she is unsure if they're from Cornwall or were tourists - but said it seemed they were confident and knowledgeable about the water there.

Sue's daughter Lisa said: "I want to raise awareness of the dangers of the sea. I swim in the sea all year round and have done for years but I always fear it.

"It’s forever changing and no one should take it for granted even if you are in a lifeguarded area.

"You should keep your wits about you, never go out of your depth and use a spot on land to keep checking that you are not being pulled/drifting. It’s good to watch a spot for 10 minutes before getting in and if your gut is telling you it’s not quite right then don’t go in.

"Living by the coast is amazing and we are so lucky to be blessed with the sea but so many children can’t swim. Please, please, please teach them. It could save lives."