This is the terrifying moment a young girl was swamped by the tide and nearly swept away while playing on a popular beach.
The young girl is seen paddling on Perranporth Beach, Cornwall, with water gently lapping at her ankles.
But seconds later a sudden surge of tide rushes in and knocks the girl – who is thought to be aged around six – off her feet.
Two adults with her rushed to help and managed to catch the floating child before she was dragged out to sea.
Passer-by Raila Langhelle, 47, captured the dramatic three-minute clip as she enjoyed a walk on the beach yesterday.
She has now released the footage as a warning to others about the unpredictable nature of incoming tides.
The mum-of-two, who lives in Perranporth but is originally from Norway, said: ‘It must have been incredibly scary for her, especially as she was such a young girl.
Posting the video on Facebook, she said: ‘Be aware of the tides out there.
‘They come so fast. This must have been so scary for this little girl. Luckily someone reacted very quickly, if not, she would have been gone.
‘I hope they all are back inside safe and warm now. Please share if you have friends or family who need a “wake up call”.’
This is the heart-stopping moment (pictured) a young girl was swamped by the tide and nearly swept away while playing on a popular beach
The worried mum added: ‘It all happened very quickly, it was over within seconds.
‘I was just filming the water, because I was sat on the beach and thought that it might make a nice Facebook Live video.
‘I wasn’t really paying attention to what was happening with the girl, when suddenly she got pulled down.
‘Straight away I was thinking “oh my god”.
‘She was on a sand bank, so it would have been easy for her to get caught there, and the tide was dragging her away.
The young girl is seen paddling on Perranporth Beach (pictured), Cornwall, with water gently lapping at her ankles. But seconds later a sudden surge of tide rushes in and knocks the girl – who is thought to be aged around six – off her feet
‘I was ready to get up and help or call the police, because it looked like she was on her own at first.
‘Thankfully though two other people, who might have been her family, came to help her and took her away.
‘I was just amazed, they seemed to be completely unaware of the danger of the water.
‘If the adults there hadn’t have responded so quickly, then who knows what might have happened to her? It’s very lucky.’
Raila added: ‘I see people everyday who seem unaware of what can happen. Thankfully the lifeguards are fantastic, but people need to learn to help themselves a little bit.’