Teenager pulled from the sea by lifeguards

A 15-year-old girl was pulled from the sea by lifeguards after getting into difficulty off Sunderland yesterday.

RNLI lifeguards were making their way down the steps to Seaburn beach at around 9.45am yesterday morning when they spotted a group of people on the sand and what looked like a ball bobbing in the sea.

As they got nearer, they realised it was a person in difficulty. The girl’s three friends had managed to get out of the sea and had got a life ring which a man had then tried to take out to the 15-year-old.

RNLI senior lifeguard Aaron Curle and fellow life guards Chris Trotter and Aid an Mitchell asked a member of the public to call the Coast guard and an ambulance.

Aaron then dashed into these a and swam out through the breaking waves. He took the life ring from the man after ensuring he was able to get out of the water safely.

On reaching the girl, Aaron realised she was in great difficulty and was struggling to keep her face out of the water. He advised her to float on her back then managed to tow her to shore. He was met by his fellow lifeguards and performed a casualty care check on the teenager and wrapped her in blankets.

The local Coastguard team performed further first-aid checks before the girl was handed over to North East Ambulance Service paramedics.

“There were some big waves at Seaburn today,” said Aaron. “She was really struggling to keep her head above water after losing her footing and being swept out. We’ re so pleased we were able to rescue the girl and bring her to safety.”