rescuers who jumped into the boiling seas to pull them out.

On Monday sightseers were watching mountainous waves breaking over the sea front at Rocky Bay, in Devonshire.

A garden sea wall protecting a house had been blown away by the surf and a mother and her children, aged about two and four, went into the garden to take photographs.

As she took a photo, the mother let go of the children and was dragged into the sea by the powerful undertow. Her two children were also then caught and went under.

Just as it happened, 18-year-old Miss Victoria Greening came out of her house and saw the drama unfold.

"A wave came as I was walking down. The undertow took the woman onto the rocks. I ran down and grabbed hold of her and pulled her up,'' said Miss Greening.

She said the children were underneath the water and a man standing nearby jumped into the sea to reach them.

"He got to the children and dragged them up. They were spluttering and one could not breathe properly so he gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to clear their throats,'' added Miss Greening.

She said the man, whose name she did not know, lost his car keys in the rescue. It is not known who the woman and children were.

Miss Greening added: "It was very dangerous down there and the seas were up to ten or 15 feet, but there were a lot of people watching. I suppose they didn't realise the danger of going so close.

"For some reason I decided to go outside and saw what was happening. I think about it now, but I wasn't thinking about it then. There was no time to think of danger.''