Mother and Daughter Drown in West Mersea Rescue Attempt

Witnesses say a heroic day-tripper managed to haul two children back to shore during an incident where a mother and daughter drowned.

Beverly Smit, 60, described the unnamed rescuer swimming out to sea three times as the tragedy unfolded in West Mersea, near Colchester, on Wednesday evening.

Shally Rahman, 41, and Samiha Rahman, 15, were trying to rescue a seven-year-old boy from the water when they got into difficulty and died.

Essex Police said the group, from Barking, east London, were all related to each other and the boy remained in hospital, fighting for his life.

Recalling the moment the "Good Samaritan" sprang into action, Smit said: "They were calling for help and the children and adults were out there.

"He swam out, I think, three times. Two of the children he brought back were not in good condition.

"It's not an easy swim when the tide's coming in - you're swimming against the tide. The water [on Wednesday] was particularly quite cold."

The mother and daughter died at the scene at about 17:35 BST, while the young boy was airlifted to the Royal London Hospital.

Three others were taken by ambulance to another hospital.

One of the members of the extended family is a constituent of Naz Shah, the Labour MP for Bradford West, and she said the deaths had been felt "very deeply" locally.

"They tried to save them but couldn't," she told the BBC.

"I am just absolutely devastated and shocked that this could happen. The family went out for day on the beach."

People have described how bystanders rushed to the water to help, including teenagers who worked at the nearby Seaview Beach Diner and an off-duty paramedic.