A couple trying to save a drowned mother and daughter have called for life-saving equipment on the beach where they died.
Craig Bowe, 42, fought the tide three times in West Mersea, near Colchester, after hearing screams and his wife Carly, 43, calling 999 on Wednesday evening.
Their daughters ran to the cafe to pick up a lifejacket and floatation device, which was being used by Craig, who said: “I think floatation devices should be closer to shore.”
According to Colchester City Council, a risk assessment carried out by the UK’s Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) in March concluded that the life-saving equipment was unlikely to be used effectively in an emergency.
Shally Rahman, 41, and Samiha Rahman, 15, died Wednesday while trying to help a seven-year-old relative out of the water.
“There should be more life jackets, there should be more rings, so the fact that my daughter had to go across the street to the cafe to get a life jacket is very upsetting,” Carly said.
Craig said that during the third rescue he wore a life jacket to help keep himself buoyant in increasingly rough seas while he used a ring to help retrieve one of the survivors.