TWO lifeguards have been honoured for rescuing a pair of teenagers who ignored repeated warnings not to enter the sea in inflatable rings.

Kate Forrester, 19, and 23-year-old Claire McGee received commendation certificates from the Royal Life Saving Society yesterday.

The rescue took place on a busy bank holiday Monday in May, last year, when two 13-year-old boys were spotted in inflatable rings about 75 metres from the shore, near Seaton Carew Golf Club.

They had earlier ignored warnings from the lifeguards not to enter the water with the rings, and were oblivious to the fact that the current was quickly carrying them farther from the shore and out towards a water out-fall pipe.

The lifeguards shouted warnings to the boys, who signalled that they couldn't swim.

The girls then swam to the youngsters, carrying torpedo buoys, which they placed around them to help keep them afloat as they pulled them back to shore.

Physiotherapy student Ms McGee said: "I noticed that they were in rubber rings, so I was just keeping an eye on them and they started drifting.

"We shouted to them, and they said they were finding it hard to swim back in to shore, so we went out to get them.

"They got out of their depth, so we just waded out and towed them back in."

The colleagues were nominated for the award by Debbie Wood, Hartlepool Borough Council's beach safety officer.

"It was a textbook rescue," said MsWood, "And I cannot praise Claire and Kate highly enough. They saved the boys from what was a very dangerous situation as they were rapidly being swept out to sea.

"The incident also serves as a very important reminder, that people should always follow the lifeguards' advice, and youngsters should never be left unsupervised with an inflatable. Inflatables should always be used with the greatest of care."

Ms McGee said: "I swam a lot as a child, and I started doing life-saving competitions.

"I just thought a beach lifeguard would be a bit more challenging, and it's really nice to be able to give something back to the community."

The Royal Life Saving Society has only issued ten commendations so far this year.