The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Jenna Davidson on Broughty Ferry beach where she saved a girl in difficulty in the swirling waters. Picture: Mhairi Edwards.
RESCUE: Woman says scary incident at beach is ‘only just hitting home now’
A woman has spoken of the moment she managed to pull a teenage girl to safety from a notoriously dangerous stretch of sea at Broughty Ferry beach.
Jenna Davidson, from Aberdeen, noticed a girl aged around 13 or 14 had separated from her group of friends in the water near Broughty Castle on Wednesday afternoon.
The girl was being dragged away by the current as the waves churned around the rocky coastline.
Jenna, a 42-year-old dental nurse, said: “She was drifting further and further away and people were shouting at her to come towards us but she couldn’t.
“This went on for about five minutes and I realised I would need to go in.
“I waded into the water and because I’m quite tall, my feet were still touching the ground.
“When I got close to her she managed to grab a buoy from one side and I grabbed it from the other and pulled her in. It’s scary but I think if it was any further I might not have been able to reach her. The water was swirling and foamy so it looked really dangerous.
“It’s only just hitting home now and I’m left thinking ‘crikey, that did actually happen’.”
A lifeboat from the nearby Ferry station arrived just after the girl reached the safety of the beach at around 3pm.
As she had swallowed sea water she was assessed by the team before paramedics arrived to check her over.
Two of the girl’s friends were also assessed as they had been in the water for some time trying to help. All three were shaken up but otherwise unhurt.
It comes just weeks after an off-duty policeman rescued two girls aged around 13 from the same spot.
The council has warned people to stay out of the water altogether after it emerged lifeguards would not be stationed on the beach this summer.
It is understood the decision was due to a shortage of trained candidates brought about by the Covid-19 crisis.
Jenna, who was visiting her mum in Ardler near Meigle, has been an openwater swimmer for years.
She said: “You are not really supposed to go in water to help someone because it could be dangerous for you too.
“The poor girl was really frightened but I’m so thankful she is OK.”
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The water was swirling and foamy so it looked really dangerous