Tendring District Council have issued an urgent warning after a ten-year-old boy was rescued from the sea at Clacton.

The boy, who is believed to have been at the beach with his brother, got into difficulty off the West Beach, close to Clacton Pier at about 11.45am on Saturday.

He was only about 15 yards from the shore but was wearing tracksuit bottoms and a T-shirt.

The boy was spotted by Tendring District Council's (TDC) Seafront Manager Tim Sutton who called up his beach patrol team to go to the boy's aid.

"The ten-year-old was struggling due to the weight of his wet clothes and because the tide was going out it was hard for him to get back in," he said.

"Even though he wasn't far from the shore it was still quite deep water."

Beach Patrol Steve Duggan went to help the boy and got him ashore. He was checked over but did not need any treatment or medical attention.

Councillor Stephen Mayzes, Cabinet Member for Leisure at TDC, is recommending that people only enter the water with traditional swimwear.

"It can become very difficult to swim in normal clothing when it is wet so it is always best to wear the correct swimwear," he said.

"This incident could have been far more serious had our beach patrol not spotted the boy so quickly," he said.

24/5/09

Related Link Safety Around Water