Children dice with death after being knocked over by huge waves on same Devon coast where two men drowned the day before
- Eyewitnesses were concerned to see youngsters being knocked off their feet
- Less than 24 hours earlier two men had drowned at neighbouring Redgate Beach
- The two children, believed to be under six, said parents were further up beach
Pictures show children as young as three being left unattended to dice with death in huge waves – on the same stretch of Devon coast where two men were swept to their deaths the day before.
Eyewitnesses were concerned to see youngsters being knocked off their feet by the surf at Oddicombe Beach in strong winds on Friday afternoon.
Less than 24 hours earlier two men had drowned at neighbouring Redgate Beach in Babbacombe.
Two children, thought to be under six, were left unattended on the Oddicombe beach by their parents who were farther up the beach
An eyewitness who pictured two of the children – believed to be aged under six – said their parents were sitting further up the beach.
They said: ‘The waves at Oddicombe Beach were huge.
‘I made sure they were safely getting up the beach each time a wave came in.
‘We only left after we’d seen the little girl get knocked down by a wave and then helped back on to her feet by her slightly older brother.
Two men were swept to their deaths the day before on the same stretch of coast
‘Even I – a competent swimmer – would have struggled in waves like those.
‘As soon as a very small toddler started joining in I left. It was too distressing to watch with the sea state like that. What were the parents thinking?
‘The sea was full of shingle and seaweed. It would have been impossible to see a child, especially one so young, had one gone under.
‘Everyone loves to jump the waves with their children, but perhaps reserve it for a day when the waves are lower?’
A three-year-old was also pictured perilously close to being swept away near the beach where tragedy struck just hours before.
The child about three-years-old was at Oddicombe beach, Torquay, is pictured perilously close to being swept away near a beach where tragedy struck just hours before
The child about three-years-old was at Oddicombe beach, Torquay on Friday.
The beach is near Babbacombe where two men were swept to their deaths in roughs seas on Thursday.
It was one of several coastal incidents in south Devon in the space of hours.
It prompted authorities to issue a warning about dangerous sea conditions.
The warning appeared to be ignored on Friday.
Woman said to have let the toddler onto jetty on his own, obviously unaware of the dangers
Holding the boy’s hand the woman does not seem aware of the threat posed by the large waves
An eyewitness at Oddicombe said the situation looked very risky.
They said: ‘The woman and boy were running up and down the jetty being hit by huge breakers.
‘At one point he fell over and got soaked.
‘The woman just stood there while the tot ran down the jetty.
‘It looked incredibly dangerous in light of recent events.
‘The unpredictable sea could have swept them away so easily.’