Nudist bather saves family from rip tide as UK beaches overrun

Not all heroes wear capes: A nudist bather is being hailed a hero. Photo / Ethan McArthur, Unsplash

A woman is being hailed a hero for her unabashed bravery in helping a family in distress, near a UK nudist beach.

On Wednesday, a family of three were caught in a rip tide near the naturist beach of Pedn Vounder in South West England, reported The Sun. Fortunately one sunbather noticed their plight and was not reserved about coming to their rescue.

Jessica Layton, a local theatre performer, had been making the most of the sunny weather and was just about to head home when she saw the family in distress.

"It was just after 3pm and the tide was coming in. I decided to go for a final rip before going home," Layton told The Sun.

Performer Jessica Layton was just heading home when she saw the family in distress. Photo / Supplied

"I was topless in the sea when I saw two teenage girls struggling to swim near rocks, their mum ran in to help them and she started struggling too.

"I swam towards them and thought, 'Oh s**t' as I realised how strong the rip current was.

"I was struggling myself and they were panicking, which wasn't ideal in a situation like that.

"I was going to tell them to float, which is the best thing you can do in a rip current, but they were panicking so much it wouldn't have worked.

"They were all holding hands, so I grabbed one of their hands and pulled them all on to the beach."

Jessica Layton is a regular at the beach, which has no lifeguards. Photo / Supplied

While she admitted that it might have been quite a scene, she was grateful to have seen the family before she had left.

"Fortunately I'd just put my bikini bottoms on before it happened," she told The Sun.

"It's a classic – of course, I was going to be topless when something like this happens."

The nudist beach does not have a lifeguard and was one of many overrun by visitors as the UK's Covid restrictions ease, ahead of summer.

‘MAJOR INCIDENT’ declared in BOURNEMOUTH - pls stay away.

With 1/2 million visitors in Dorset, roads are gridlocked, hindering emergency vehicles & beaches are full - with Dispersal Orders on both piers.
I’ve asked Police Minister to dispatch additional police if Dorset requests pic.twitter.com/YnSpfdXOLc

— Tobias Ellwood MP (@Tobias_Ellwood) June 25, 2020

On Thursday, Bournemouth declared a "major incident", after it struggled to cope with the number of visitors flocking to the beaches.

Local MP Tobias Ellwood begged tourists to 'Stay away' saying that half a million beachgoers had clogged up the roads and hindered emergency services.

Bournemouth beach bustling on the warmest day of the year so far - the day after further lockdown easing measures were announced by the government

🎥|@AndyMatthews_PA pic.twitter.com/Sf5WRIRIei

— Joe Pickover (@JPickover) June 24, 2020