A SOUTHAMPTON nurse has told how he helped save the lives of two people from drowning at Sandbanks.

Chris Hodges, 34, left his four-year-old daughter and 18-month-old son on the beach as he ran into the sea to help save a mother and daughter caught in a riptide by one of the groynes.

Chris, a nurse at Southampton General Hospital, said people should think twice before swimming when there are no lifeguards on the beach.

He said: “I was walking my son and daughter to the rocks.

“They were playing around, and I heard a high pitched ‘help’.

“There was a lady in a full swimsuit waving her arm in the air.

“I looked around me and nobody was doing anything, I told my eldest daughter to stay there and swam out and a lady was there. I saw she was struggling because there was two of them.”

Former lifeguard Lisette Bonin-Casey was bodyboarding in the area and helped rescue the two people in trouble.

“I was treading water and grabbed the younger girl and swam into shore,” added Chris.

“The older lady was in complete shock, couldn’t speak and you could see the whites of her eyes.”

Chris said he found his children who were being looked after by two ladies and went back to his wife waiting at the car.

However, he admitted he understood the risk he took in helping the mother and daughter.

“I know recently there was a guy who drowned saving two lads so I was very conscious swimming out that I might not come back,” he added.

“Ultimately, being a nurse myself it’s drilled within you. That was my natural instinct.

“I am pleased they have recovered. I sat reflecting on what had happened. It was very pleasing once the initial shock had worn off.

“You try to do that at work, it is fight or flight, you would help anybody.”

Chris said he and his family decided they weren’t going to swim that day because no lifeguard was on duty and said people need to be more aware of the risks.

“There needs to be better awareness for all tourists coming down to the area, better signage, especially if there is no lifeguard,” he added.

“We are pleased the mother and daughter are well, they were probably moments from drowning, they were exhausted.”