Watch: Teenager rescued from sea

Passersby saved the life of a girl who was at risk of drowning in a rough sea at Bridlington last Sunday (7 May 2023). Video shared on Facebook by Ksenia Wright was simply captioned: “My dad’s a hero – saved a girl today.”

In the footage, four people can be seen throwing a lifebelt to the girl, before dragging her to safety. One man can be seen wading into heavy waves to help the girl up a slipway.

The girl, wearing the lifebelt, is dragged around the side of a sea wall to the slipway, while waves crash over the side, threatening to knock her rescuers off their feet.

The coastguard was called to the incident, but the girl was already safe by the time they arrived, reports the Hull Daily Mail.

“There is no doubt that members of the public have saved this individual’s life after they got into difficulty just off the Bridlington Harbour,” says Jordan Grebby, of the Bridlington Coastguard. “This incident is a timely reminder that whilst the sea can look fun, it can also be very dangerous.”

Former Bridlington mayor and councillor Liam Dealtry, contacted the Bridlington Echo to say he was so impressed by the selfless attitude of the rescuers, he wanted to take them all out for fish and chips and a drink to congratulate them on their community spirit and say a ‘big thank you.’

Bridlington has also been in the media spotlight this month (2May2023) as a juvenile Fin whale, measuring 17.6 metres (almost 58 ft) was spotted in distress in the sea. It stranded on a sand bank and while the Bridlington Coastguard Rescue Team, police and volunteers were quickly on the scene, as the tide went out, the mammal become fully stranded and died shortly after.

The carcass of the 30-tonne whale was removed in an operation the local council described as the “largest of its kind” it had ever carried out. It had become a macabre tourist attraction with people reportedly travelling for miles to see the carcass, says the BBC.

Council contractors managed to move the whale’s body in one piece, despite earlier fears it may need to be chopped up to enable removal.