A family of off-duty lifeguards saved the lives of three swimmers on a Cornish beach.

Gareth Barnes and daughters Issey, Maisie and Scarlet were relaxing in the sun when they were called into action. 

The family – all RNLI lifeguards – were on Treyarnon Beach when they spotted the swimmers in trouble.

Issey saw one of them as waving in distress while the other two were being smashed against the rocks.

She immediately signalled for help to the rest of her family and instructed the waving boy to swim to shore.

She then made her way to the other two struggling casualties as the rest of the family assisted in the rescue bid.

Issey said: “I could see the father was holding his daughter up out of the water, the effort of doing so was pushing him under. ‘She was limp and clearly in shock. 

“I managed to grab her and tow towards the beach whilst telling her father to swim away from the rocks, out of the rip and into the middle of the beach.”

The girl had swallowed a significant amount of water and her breathing was very shaken.

The man and girl were advised to float on their backs whilst controlling their breathing.

Issey’s twin sister Maisie was close behind and swam out to the father with a rescue tube, managing to take a hold of him. He was blue with cold and in shock. Maisie safely swam him to shore.

In the meantime, sister Scarlet had commandeered a surfboard from a member of the public and was able to help Issey by securing the girl onto the surfboard and swam her out of the rip.

Issey added: “My father arrived on a rescue board and the male casualty was transferred to him. 

“Once my sister Maisie got to shore, she left the father with my mother Deborah, who had been reassuring the family and taking care of the younger boy while this had been unfolding.”

Maisie ran to the lifeguard unit to collect the crash bag before commencing casualty care on the dad and his two children, including warming them up, administering oxygen to the girl and monitoring their vital signs.

Meanwhile Scarlet had called for an ambulance and coastguard for assistance, whom once on the scene, aided with casualty care and transport of the casualties. 

The young girl was taken to hospital whilst the other two casualties were advised to return to their holiday home, get warm and ensure they make their own way to the hospital to be checked out.

Henry Irvine, RNLI regional lifeguard lead for the South West said: “This is a stark reminder of the dangers faced when entering the water after lifeguard patrolling hours. 

“This family were extremely lucky to have had the Barnes family recognise they were in difficulty. 

“It could very easily have been a different outcome had these off-duty RNLI lifeguards not been at the beach at that time. 

“I am extremely proud of the Barnes family for their unwavering commitment to their job, and for saving these three lives.’’