A GANG of bullies left a girl of 13 close to death by forcing her to remain waist-deep in the icy sea for two hours.

She had to be rushed to hospital suffering from hypothermia after her ordeal.

Lifesavers warned the youngster could have died if she had remained in the water for much longer after her body temperature plummeted.

The girl's mum, who asked not to be named, of Walker, Newcastle, said: "Any longer and it could have been a disaster.

"We just got a call saying she was in hospital with hypothermia and that she'd been in the sea.

"Then we realised it was to do with bullying and some kids she's had problems with at school for a while.

"Thankfully she's got some body fat on her. If she was thin she might not have survived."

The girl's ordeal happened on Monday afternoon at Cullercoats Bay, near Whitley Bay.

She had been at the beach with friends and bumped into the bullies who had been making her life hell at school.

They made her stand waist-deep in the 8 degrees water and said if she came out they would beat her up.

So the terrified youngster stayed put until passing lifeguards noticed she was getting into difficulties.

As Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade turned up with flashing blue lights on the patrol car, the bullies fled the scene.

Lifesavers had to administer immediate treatment to the 13-year-old and her friend, who had suffered a panic attack during the ordeal.

Will Hogg, of Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade, said: "A 13-year-old girl was being forced into the sea by a group of so-called friends.

"The indications are there was bullying going on and they were forcing her to stand in the sea for two hours.

"They said if she came out of the water they would beat her up so she stayed in there and ended up getting hypothermia.

"The group who had been forcing her to stay in the water took flight when police arrived with the blue lights flashing.

"This kind of behaviour is extremely dangerous.

"The girl had hypothermia and had to be taken to hospital but it could have been even worse.

"Any drop in her body temperature and she could have been in serious trouble. You can get hypothermia in 15 minutes at this time of year as the sea is still very cold."

After being plucked from the sea, she was taken to Cullercoats RNLI station where she was cared for and attempts were made to warm her up.

However, after an hour she was still extremely cold and required further assistance.

Team members arrived on scene and, along with the lifeguards, cared for the girl until an ambulance arrived.

Meanwhile, other team members looked after the girl's two friends, one of whom was suffering from a panic attack.