THREE police constables risked their lives by wading against the tide into the North Sea to rescue a drowning woman.

PCs Leigh Stevens, Kelly Daniel and Malcolm Philpott, of Cleveland Police, were called after a woman walked into the bitterly cold sea at Saltburn in a desperate attempt to take her own life last month.

All three officers waded deep into the water to rescue her, but were pushed back by the strong tide and conditions.

Volunteers from the RNLI arrived and jumped from the lifeboat to save the woman – who was up to her neck in water – and the three police constables helped to take her back to shore.

The brave efforts of PCs Stevens, Daniel and Philpott have been nominated for an official Chief Constable’s Commendation.

Cleveland Police's Chief Constable Iain Spittal said: “Our police officers run towards danger and difficult situations to help the public and keep them safe.

“It is in their nature to put themselves in harm’s way to save lives and this is what Leigh, Kelly and Malcolm have done in their valiant efforts to protect this vulnerable woman.

“They should be proud of how they have conducted themselves, because I know that I am proud that we have police officers of this high calibre working for Cleveland Police.”

PC Stevens said: “We do our job to save people’s lives, so for me this is just part and parcel of the job and I wouldn’t hesitate to do the same again if it meant keeping someone safe.

“We went into the water as far as we could, but the conditions meant that we kept getting pushed back.

“The RNLI managed to get to the lady and we all got out of the water together – helping each other.

Redcar RNLI spokesman Dave Cocks praised the efforts of the police officers.

He said: “The police were already on scene when we arrived and they were trying to encourage the woman to come back out of the water.

“The water is very cold in the spring and the current was strong that day.

“RNLI crews are equipped and trained to tackle many, many circumstances but this sort of rescue is always difficult. And for the police officers to wade in with no specialist equipment and no protection from the elements that day was a very brave act.”

The vulnerable woman was taken from Saltburn after the incident and given additional help and support from specialists.