THE parents of a mother who drowned in the sea along with her two children have thanked rescuers who tried in vain to save the family.

Kim Barrett, 32, and her children, Aimee Greenwood, 13, and Luke Greenwood, 11, died in a freak accident in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, in March.

The children were playing on a slipway off Royal Albert Drive when they were hit by a wave and dragged into the sea. Miss Barrett jumped in to try to save them. Aimee's body has never been found.

Miss Barrett's parents, Norma and Michael Barrett, from Leeds, thanked staff at Scarborough Lifeboat Station for all that was done, and on Saturday gave them an inscribed barometer.

The couple praised coastguards and surfer Nick Beaumont, who tried to rescue the family.

Mr Barrett said: "If they could have got them out, they would have done. They just could not beat the waves."

Mrs Barrett said they were still finding it difficult to come to terms with the loss.

"At first we could not go to Scarborough, but now it helps going over and we cannot stay away," she said:

"It's not being able to bury her (Aimee) that's tragic, but we have to be realistic.

"I believe that they are all together anyway."

The family had been on a day out in Whitby when they stopped off in Scarborough to look at the waves on the way home to Leeds.

Val Winterbottom, treasurer of the Scarborough branch of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, said: "I think it helped the family get some closure. It's been very difficult for them because the body of their granddaughter was never found. The barometer will be a lasting testament to the job the lifeboat crew tried to do."

Members of the public who witnessed the tragedy also attended the ceremony.

The barometer was presented to coastguard sector manager David Warburton.

He said: "It will help us to remember what happened on that day.

"It will stay in the sector office as a lasting tribute to Kim, Aimee and Luke."