A DAD has been hailed a hero after coming to the rescue of a mum caught in the high tide.

Richard Cole and his wife Jessica decided to take their three young children to Formby beach for the afternoon on Father’s Day.

The family had been at the beach for around an hour when the tide began to come in.

As Jessica was walking along the beach a teenage boy told her his mum had got caught in the tide, and could not swim.

Richard, from Northwich, was further up the beach at this point with their two-year-old daughter.

Jessica ran to her husband and urged him to try and save the woman.

“Once I realised what was going on I just ran straight into the water,” Richard said.

“I just thought I have got to do something.

“Anyone would have done the same.”

A 14-year-old boy who was swimming in the area also came to the rescue.

The woman’s step daughter was in the water too.

Between them they managed to pull the woman to shore. Shortly after several lifeguards arrived on the scene and took over.

Jessica said: “When they took her out of the water, my husband came up to me and just started crying.

“I think the shock hit him about what he had done.

“He told me he thought she was dead when they got to her.”

Richard said: “Straight after it happened Jessica was telling me what a hero I was, but I was getting a bit emotional at that time.

“It is the young boy who is the hero in my eyes, he helped me get her in, and her stepdaughter for staying with her for so long.”

The woman was airlifted to hospital and has since made contact with Richard through Facebook to thank him for his efforts.

Jessica has urged members of the public to seek training to know how to react in that situation.

She said: “I need to know if this happens again I want to feel confident I can get them out of the water and know what to do if they are under the water unconscious.

“I don’t know what the right thing is to do.”

A spokesman for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) confirmed that lifeguards responded to reports that a woman was struggling in the sea around 4.55pm on Sunday, June 18.

The charity confirmed that RNLI lifeguard Kieran Leith quickly attended the scene and found that the casualty had a high breathing rate and was drifting in and out of consciousness.

Richard Goodacre, RNLI Lifeguard Supervisor, said: “We worked closely with Southport Independent Lifeboat, paramedics and the Coastguard to ensure that the woman received swift and effective casualty care treatment.

“We’d always advise people to visit a lifeguarded beach and to swim between the red and yellow flags.

“Our lifeguards were pleased to be able to assist during the multi-agency call and we wish the lady a speedy recovery."