Martin and David Marney spotted the woman was in difficulty around 6 pm between Little Fistral and Towan Head. The woman came into difficulty as she was swept away by the water after going in to rescue her dog.

The Marney brothers who are both experienced swimmers stripped to their underwear and swam through 6 feet of waves to reach her. Martin Marney said “When I first saw her I thought she was dead, she was just floating motionlessly on her back.  When we reached her she was semi-conscious, she couldn’t talk and had no awareness of what was going on, so we just tried to keep her conscious.”

They started to swim back to shore with the woman but were signalled by the coastguards to stay out beyond waves and alerted them a lifeboat was on its way.

After about 25 minutes in the water, the woman was successfully picked up by a lifeboat and airlifted to hospital.

Both Martin and David were awarded a Certificate of Commendation by the Royal Life Saving Society UK for their swift response.

Should your dog get into difficulty in water trying to rescue your dog from land is the best course of action. Call for help and go to a point where your dog can exit the water. Encourage them to swim towards you by calling them and throwing sticks in front of them in the direction they need to swim. In many cases, dogs have found their own way to land.