A HAMPSHIRE mother thought nothing of her own safety as she rushed to the rescue of her two young children who were being swept out to sea.

Claire Allen ran into the waves when her seven-year-old son Edward and ten-year-old daughter Isabelle were carried away by the strong current off Lepe Beach in the New Forest.

The 40-year-old from Totton kept her son afloat for more than ten minutes until a boat came to their aid.

In the meantime Isabelle was able to swim to shore.

Claire, who works as baker, said: “I don’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t gone out to get them. I could have lost them forever. They were drifting out and they were in the deep water. I feared for their lives.”

She said that both children, who attend Abbotswood Junior School in Totton, are good swimmers but the current and the tide were too strong for them.

The Hamble lifeboat and a coastguard rescue helicopter from Lee-on-the-Solent were deployed along with an ambulance after people on the beach called 999 as they witnessed Monday’s drama unfold.

However, two women in nearby motor boat heard about the situation over their radio and reached Claire and her son just few minutes before the Hamble lifeboat arrived.

Claire added: “I didn’t have a chance to catch their names because as soon as we got on their boat the lifeboat arrived and we went on to that.

“I feel extremely relieved and thankful for the people on the beach for calling 999, the ladies who picked us up and the lifeboat. I couldn’t have got back without them.”

Neither Claire or her children needed hospital treatment and she said that the incident had not put them off the seaside and they will keep going to the beach, although they will be extra vigilant in future.

Liam Dobbin, fundraising manager and trustee for Hamble Lifeboat, said: “We are happy that Claire and her kids are safe and well. Southampton has a very strong tide at this time of the year and we would recommend people to be extra careful.”