Woman who saved drowning boy in Bournemouth 'expected the worst'

Nicola Dorrington was on the beach with her family when she spotted the child lying in the shallows

A mum who saved a young boy from drowning on a Dorset beach has said "it almost felt like time stood still".

Nicola Dorrington was on a family trip to Alum Chine beach in Bournemouth earlier this month when she spotted the boy lying in the shallows, unnoticed by the beachgoers around him.

Initially thinking he was a toy or seaweed, Mrs Dorrington said she then saw his hand and ran over to him.

She screamed to nearby lifeguards for help as she pulled him from the water.

Mrs Dorrington said: "He was unconscious, he was floppy, he had foam coming out of his mouth, so I just expected the worst.

"It felt like it took ages for someone to get him but it was actually seconds before someone grabbed him - it felt like a lifetime."

The boy was treated and returned safe and well to his family.

Swim England and the RNLI offering free water skills sessions through the Swim Safe initiative

According to Swim Safe, an initiative by Swim England and the RNLI offering free water skills sessions to young people, there are 250 accidental drownings every year in the UK.

"The vast majority of those people don't intend to be in the water, it's really easy to get into trouble unexpectedly," said a Swim Safe spokesman.

Mrs Dorrington warned that distress in the water does not always appear as people might expect.

"We all think that a drowning child is going to be splashing around, making a fuss and some noise," she said, adding: "But this boy was silent.

"The water wasn't even knee-deep - he was submerged under very shallow water."

In addition to the many signs on beaches about littering, she suggested a gentle reminder to parents should be included that the sea may be "fun, but it is also very dangerous".