A DOG owner was nearly swept away after running into the stormy sea to save her pet.

In a shocking video posted on Facebook, the woman disappears under the water, having run into the sea on Brighton beach to rescue the struggling dog.

After being taken under by a large wave she eventually manages to retrieve the dog which was swept back inshore.

Both the RNLI and Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said the woman was lucky not be have been killed.

The video of the incident on Sunday was posted on Facebook by freelance photographer Alessandro Intini.

The 41-year-old from Brighton said the woman was walking the dog with her parents at the time.

He said: “She was very confident going into the water, but after the first wave she was in shock. I think she was very lucky to come out alive.”

In the 50 second video the woman can be seen running into the sea fully-clothed before trying to turn back when she sees a wave towering over her.

She is carried back up the beach by the powerful waves and then grasps the dogs in her arms before she is hit by another wave.

A bystander drags the dog to safety, while the young woman catches her breath.

Duncan Ley, duty controller for the Coastguard, said: “The footage of this recent dog rescue is alarming. This person is incredibly lucky that they weren’t swept out to sea or injured.

“Over the past few days our seas have been unforgiving. We cannot stress enough that piers, rocks, harbours and the water’s edge are not safe places to be when the weather is bad - even a small wave can come out of nowhere and quickly wash you off and into the sea.

"We would urge people to think carefully about the risks they take and be extremely careful near any body of water during bad weather.

“Our advice is always call 999 and ask for the Coastguard if your dog gets into difficult at the coast. Always try and keep your dog on a lead and don’t be tempted to go and rescue it yourself.

"Nine times out of ten a dog will rescue itself and return to shore alive, but tragically some owners do not. Our Coastguards are trained in all types of rescue on the coast, including dog rescues so calling the Coastguard is always the right thing to do.”

Paul Dunt, from the RNLI, said: “People can be tempted to save animals because they view the animals as part of their family and they are very emotionally attached to them, they want to help.

“In our experience most of the time the dog will find its own way out. If you watch the video you see that the dog finds its own way to the shore, so we would always advise people not to go to the water and get to a safe place and call their dog to them.

"But also if they’re concerned they can always call the Coastguard.

“We quite frequently get called out to dogs in the water. The reason behind that is that we would rather come out to save a dog than people in the water going in after the dog.”

  • If you are the woman who rescued the dog or know her, or if you witnessed the incident you can phone The Argus on 01273 021372 or email news@theargus.co.uk.