FIVE children and one adult have been saved from the sea in a dramatic rescue.

The children were playing in the surf off Longsands beach in Tynemouth yesterday (Sunday, August 23) afternoon when they were caught in a rip current.

At about 3.30pm, a member of the public alerted RNLI lifeguards that a group of children were in difficulty just outside the red and yellow flagged zone.

Lifeguards Jake Woods and Vaughn Campbell raised the alarm then swam out to the youngsters with a rescue tube for the distressed children to hold onto.

Meanwhile RNLI lifeguard Jordon McCartney from the nearby Cullercoats unit arrived on the scene and found a man in his 30s, who was trying to help the stranded children, struggling in the strong currents.

The lifeguard guided him towards the shore before rejoining the rescue of the children, only for the swimmer to be washed back out to sea again before a second lifeguard managed to return him to the beach.

Lifeguards then kept the children calm before colleagues Liam Hogg and Elliot Rogers arrived on a rescue water craft and ferried them back to the beach on three separate journeys.

The children were very shaken by their ordeal and were suffering from the efforts of cold water. Two were given oxygen and taken to hospital by paramedics for further treatment.

RNLI Senior lifeguard, Jordon McCartney, said: ‘The sea conditions were pretty challenging yesterday afternoon.

“There was a large swell and powerful waves which meant that we had to work swiftly and effectively as a team to reach the youngsters and bring them to safety."