Rescued boys train as lifeguards

Jac and Max were swept out to sea but saved by their uncle Jonathan

Two 12-year-old boys who were saved after being dragged out to sea in a rip tide are training to become lifeguards after their experience.

Cousins Max Harris and Jac Hopkins signed up to the Rookie Lifeguards programme three years after being pulled out by a sudden current.

The pair, from Swansea, were rescued at Three Cliffs Bay, Gower.

Now they have signed up to the life saving programme at the Wales National Pool in Swansea.

Max's mother Sarah explained how the two boys were saved from drowning during a family outing in July 2006.

The two boys ran to the water with body boards but within seconds were caught in a sudden rip current and dragged out to sea.

Mrs Harris said: "They were suddenly so far out. I could not swim out them and there was no way they could swim back against such a current to safety.

I was terrified that I had lost my son Sarah Harris, Max's mother

"Before I knew it I had ran in and was chest deep in water screaming for help, screaming for them to be safe, screaming for them to come back.

"Every time a wave crashed over my head I lost track of them. I saw nothing but waves.

"There were people trying to reach them to save them, and trying to shout instructions to them to get them to safety, but there was such a current I thought they all were going to be lost.

"I will never forget that feeling. It probably lasted no longer than 15 minutes but it felt like a lifetime.

"I was terrified that I had lost my son."

She said the boys were saved after Max's uncle Jonathan put his lifeguard training into action and pulled them to safety.

Water skills

Jac's mum Emma Hopkins said: "We were unbelievably lucky. The boys were fine but the incident still affects me today."

The scheme at the national pool adopts the Royal Life Saving Association Rookie Lifeguards courses which are designed to ensure that a child has essential water skills to keep themselves safe and knowledge of what to do in an emergency.

It features swimming and lifesaving skills supported by water safety education.

Jane Draper, general manager at the Wales National Pool, said: "We are delighted at the boys' participation and progress on the courses. They have experienced first hand just how vital the skills we teach are.

"We take seriously our role in helping ensure that children in the local community in our city by the sea are learning skills to keep them safe in the water."