The family of the girls who were dramatically rescued from Burnham-On-Sea’s jetty on Saturday evening have thanked the town’s rescue services for coming to their aid while the mother of two of them has admitted she “so easily could have lost them.”
As we first reported here, Faye Mays (12), April Mays (11) and Jess Woodford (13), all from Bridgwater, got into difficulty after entering the sea for a cooling swim near the town’s Pavilion, but the fast-incoming tide took them by surprise and they were swept upstream.
Jess managed to scramble to the beach while Faye and April were pulled along further and managed to desperately cling onto the metal chains at the end of the jetty while the sea water flowed in quickly around them.
Burnham’s Coastguards and lifeboat crew were quickly on scene and the RNLI rescued one of the girls while the other was brought back to the beach using ropes.
Faye and April’s mother, Tracy, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “I could so easily have lost both my children. Words cannot describe how grateful I am that they are all safe and well today.”
She added: “Thank you to all the rescuers who pulled my girls out. All three of these girls are strong swimmers and aware of the dangers at Burnham. We live in Bridgwater and go often.”
“They had been swimming by the Pavilion and they didn’t go too far out yet they still managed to get caught in the current and instead of fighting against it they allowed it to pull them down to the jetty so they could hold onto something.”
“Jess was the only one of the three who could manage to pull herself up and she raised the alarm.”
The incident comes 11 months after four year-old Dylan Cecil drowned after falling from the jetty while the tide was quickly flowing in.
Pictured: Rescuers on Burnham jetty with ropes during Saturday’s incident and, above, Faye Mays (12), April Mays (11) and Jess Woodford (13)
