A TRAINING exercise suddenly became very real for a group of coastguards who stumbled across a woman fighting for her life.

Six officers found the injured woman underneath Barge Pier, off the coast of Shoebury, while combing the foreshore for a plastic dummy, which had been placed in a remote location as part of the routing exercise.

They sprung into action, giving her emergency first aid while they waited for backup to arrive.

The woman is now recovering at Southend Hospital.

The group was made up of five members of the Southend team, based at the Coastguard Rescue Station, in Ness Road, Shoebury and one Canvey officer.

Saul Stevens, Southend station officer, believes the woman would not have survived with their prompt action.

He said: “She was incredibly lucky. We debriefed and we all agreed that her life was saved.

“Due to how remote her location was I would say if we we hadn’t been in that area she wouldn’t have been found.

“It was a case of right place, right time.”

The team was mostly made up of probationary officers who are still honing their search and rescue techniques.

Mr Stevens added: “I had spent some time earlier in the afternoon placing a rescue dummy in Gunners Park along the sea wall area.

“The team were sent out at about 7pm with a couple of clues to practice their search techniques.

“The search commenced with the team searching the shore, but after about 20 minutes one of my officers reported that they had found a young woman beneath Barge Pier.

“It was immediately established that this wasn’t part of the exercise and it was real.

“She was in a very distressed state and needed immediate medical attention.”

The woman was picked up by the RNLI hovercraft which took her Shoebury common, where an ambulance was waiting.

Mr Stevens said: “It was a perfect example of inter-agency team-working.

“All involved wish the young women a speedy and full recovery.”

An ambulance service spokesman said the woman was unconscious but breathing when they took her to hospital on Monday evening.

The spokesman said: “The East of England Ambulance Service was called to an incident on Common Road, Shoebury, at 8.22pm on Monday.

“An ambulance and ambulance officer attended and treated a woman who was unconscious but breathing.

“She was taken to Southend Hospital for further care.”