A YORK dad saved his two young sons when they got pulled into dangerous currents on a Yorkshire beach.

Ben and Thomas Wragg, from Naburn, were enjoying a swim at Sandsend, near Whitby, on the last day of their holiday when they were suddenly caught in a rip tide which threatened to sweep them out to sea.

Their father Tim, who had just arrived to collect his wife Jane and their three children, stripped to his boxer shorts and waded into the water twice to pull his sons to safety.

Coastguards have issued a warning about rip tides – strong, unpredictable currents which can quickly drag swimmers out of their depth – after a spate of incidents off the North Yorkshire coast.

Ben, 11, and nine-year-old Thomas were paying a final visit to the beach last Friday morning with their mother and five-year-old sister Emily, during their break in nearby Ruswarp, when danger struck.

Jane, 38, said: “We were so lucky Tim came down to the beach when he did, because if he had not been there or I had needed to run and fetch him when Ben and Thomas were struggling, it could have been too late.

“I could see them in the sea and they were having a great time, but I suddenly heard screaming, then everything happened so quickly. The next thing I knew, Tim was rushing into the water.

“The waves were crashing over the boys’ heads and they were desperately trying to keep them above water, but were being swept further out.

“Although Tim is a strong swimmer, he said that if they had been any deeper, he wouldn’t have been able to fight the current because it was too strong.”

Employment solicitor Tim, 43, said: “It was difficult to tell how serious it was, but Ben and Thomas were getting upset and thinking they were in a dangerous situation.

“I couldn’t tell how dangerous it was, but you instinctively go in – you don’t have time to think.”

Having carried Thomas from the water, Tim waded back in to rescue Ben, who was still battling against being pulled further out. Paramedics took both boys to Whitby Hospital to be treated for shock and the effects of the cold water.

“I was frightened we would not get them both back and they were obviously upset, but the emergency services were great and both boys are better now,” said Jane.

“I’m so proud of Tim. He didn’t think, he just acted, and it is such a relief he was there. It has made us realise how quickly things can change in the sea.”

The last few days have also seen Whitby lifeguards rescue two teenage girls who were in the sea with their mother, as well as a young boy whose inflatable dinghy drifted towards rocks.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution advises anybody caught in a rip tide not to struggle, swim parallel to the beach to get out of the current, raise an arm to signal for help, float and wait for assistance, and not panic, with more details available at rnli.org.uk/beachsafety