A WOMAN who saved a mother and daughter from drowning in Sandbanks has called for a national campaign on sea safety.

Lisette Bonin-Casey, a former lifeguard, spotted two people caught in deep water in a rip current of the rock groynes.

The 52-year-old said: “I was body boarding with my little girl, I just saw there was a young person just off the groyne, she was there a little too long.

“Another lady was coming who was her mum, she got there just before me and couldn’t swim.

“The mum just froze and they had gone under. I was lucky because I had a body board and I helped them back up.”

Lisette said she was relieved the casualties were alive but said she was “blown away” by how many people had no sea sense.

She continued: “There was a real easterly wind blowing people on to the rocks and people were swimming next to the rocks.

“Once this girl got past the rocks that is when the sea just pulled her out. It is about knowing what to do, even knowing how to float.

“People need to be educated in how to use the sea safely. (The casualties) were lucky, the paramedic said to me another couple of minutes it would have been another story.”

Lisette said her seven-year-old daughter never goes in the sea on her own and not enough people know about rip currents.

“There needs to be a national campaign about sea sense,” she added.

“The people from in land need it, especially at the moment with everybody coming down.”

Speaking about the incidents at Durdle Door with people jumping off the arch, Lisette described it as showboating and said they couldn’t know what was under the water.

“It is really dangerous,” she said.

After the incident in Sandbanks, Poole Coastguard Rescue Team posted on Facebook: “Please remember lifeguards aren’t on the beaches at the moment. Your safety is still you responsibility.

“If you are caught in a rip current, stay calm and don’t fight the current.

“Swim parallel to the shore until you are out of the current.

“Once you are free, turn and swim toward shore.

“If you can’t swim to the shore, float or tread water until you are free of the rip current and then head toward shore.”

Lisette thanked the other people on the beach who helped, particularly the off duty police officer who called the emergency services.