Heroic passers-by who helped rescue a little boy and his mum from being swept out to sea have relived the terrifying moment a freak wave “came out of nowhere” and dragged the toddler off the beach.
A group of cyclists with the Gateshead-based Big Local charity were on one of their weekly bike rides on Thursday when they stopped to have their lunch at Seaton Sluice, Northumberland.
But as they sat and watched the relaxed scenes on the sand, a freak wave crashed onto the beach and knocked over a young boy playing with his friend before sweeping him into the water.
As his traumatised mum went in to get him, she was dragged under by the tide as well.
Christine Frazer, one of the group's volunteers, said: “We were watching these two little toddlers playing - they weren’t even in the water, they were only in the damp sand.
“A freak wave came - I’ve never seen anything like it, and it dragged them and pulled one of them into the water.
“The mam was only a couple of metres away so she went in to get him but then got dragged under.”
Christine and fellow volunteer Chris Hetherington sprinted across the beach to help.
Chris, 35, from Bensham, Gateshead, said: “It seemed to knock him over and then a second wave came and swept him out.
“He disappeared quite quick, he wasn’t miles out but for the size of him, it was quite far.
“You could see him disappear and then his head appeared and he was floundering, then he disappeared again.
“There was a group of lads next to him, but when I saw they hadn’t realised what had happened I started sprinting over there.
“I remember hearing the mam shrieking - it was horrible.
“The lads realised what had happened and started trying to get hold of him. Luckily they had hold of him and got him out of the water.
“Everyone was crowding around him and I saw his mam was on her knees and the water was up to her chest - she was just in shock, not moving, not breathing.
“I grabbed her before she got into difficulty because we could have lost her as well.”
Chris and Christine carried the boy’s mum off the beach and to her car, while another member of the group, Barry Cofell, gave first aid to her son.
Chris said: “He was crying all the way up, saying ‘it was dark, I don’t want that to happen again, I don’t want to die’.
“Barry assessed his breathing and could tell it was alright.”
Christine, 38, from Dunston, Gateshead, added: “I told them to ring 111 and get the boy to a GP because he was still throwing up sea water at that point.
“After they’d gone we just looked at each other and went into shock.
“I’m so proud of the lads, they are stalwarts of the community and to go above and beyond and do that. The care and compassion they showed putting these people first, not even hesitating.
Chris also said: “Once I got back I just started trembling and nearly broke down.
“I kept replaying it in my mind, the gravity of it kept hitting us. It just seemed like fate - the decision for us to go down and sit where we did.
“I just hope he’s alright - I keep thinking about how they are.”
