SHOCKED children spotted a body floating in the sea off the Hampshire coast as they held a party, an inquest heard.

Emma Phelps was on the beach at Barton-on-Sea with her two daughters and friends, celebrating an eighth birthday party, when the children spotted the body.

She ran into the sea, battling against high waves and treacherous currents to drag the body ashore.

The body was later identified as that of 43-year-old Devorah Hochhauser. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

A statement by Mrs Phelps, who needed hospital treatment for shock and hypothermia, was read at the inquest in Southampton yesterday.

She said: “The children started shouting ‘there is a body floating in the sea’. The sea conditions were very rough and choppy and the body was face down, close to the shore. I believed I could get her out of the water, so I took off my jeans and went in.

“Every time I got close to reaching the body, the waves would carry it further away. The only way I felt I could reach it was to swim – I did this and managed to grab the clothing.

In difficulty “I was out of my depth and in real difficulty. I almost gave up, but I found my footing and was able to get to the shoreline.”

PC David Dean, from Ringwood police station, told the inquest that Miss Hochhauser lived with her elderly mother, Gella Hochhauser, in Christchurch Road, Bournemouth.

An ambulance was called to their home on September 7, as Gella Hochhauser needed hospital treatment.

Concerned about the mental state of Miss Hochhauser, the paramedics alerted the police.

Officers later called at the home and forced entry when there was no answer. Miss Hochhauser was not home and she was logged as a missing person.

A statement by Stuart Rudlin was read at the hearing, which stated that he had seen Miss Hochhauser looking “agitated” on the train from Bournemouth to New Milton on the same day.

A post-mortem examination found that the cause of Miss Hochhauser’s death was drowning. The inquest heard that she had a history of schizophrenia, a manic personality and depressive disorder.

Gella Hochhauser has also since died.

Recording an open verdict, Southampton coroner Keith Wiseman praised the actions of Emma Phelps, stating that she acted “beyond the call of duty as a member of the public”.