Clacton coast: Review into beach safety after teenagers die

The swimmers were pulled from the sea near Clacton Pier on Thursday

A review into beach safety is taking place after the deaths of two teenagers who got into difficulty in the sea.

Haider Shamas, 18, and sibling Malika, 14, from Luton, were rescued in the sea off Clacton, Essex, on Thursday.

Malika died hours later while Haider died on Saturday.

Mike Carran, head of sport and leisure at Tendring District Council, said it was reviewing safety at the beach and talking to experts in water safety.

The incident also saw a 15-year-old girl, who is a relative, pulled from the sea with the pair

A 15-year-old girl, who is a relative, was also pulled from the sea with the pair. She is expected to recover.

A witness said the teenagers had been with a group of up to 30 people at the beach.

Onlookers tried to help the siblings after they were pulled from the water, with some performing CPR on the beach until ambulances arrived.

Mr Carran said: "I think the district council take water safety incredibly seriously.

"Over the last year we've done as much or more than any other district council in the country to look at water safety," he said.

The council says extra signs are not necessarily the answer to preventing tragedies

He said some people have called for more signs, but they were not necessarily the answer.

Mr Carran said there were signs on Rock Groyne from Pier to Holland Haven, yet "every day" beach patrols asked people to climb down off the rocks right in front of the sign.

He said red flags were sometimes put out on Clacton beach warning people not to swim.

"Over the last two days we've had a red flag flying. I spent a lot of time with the beach patrol. People ignore the red flag. Children were going in the sea, in front of their families," he said.

"Thinking that just extra signage is going to make a difference is not necessarily the case."