A WOMAN who was rescued with her dog as the tide lapped around their feet is hoping to find the good Samaritan who waded in to save them.

Chris Nolan, 58, went for a walk with Gemma, her threeyear- old cavalier king Charles spaniel, on Boxing Day, but failed to spot the water beginning to surround her.

She said: “I took Gemma for a walk on Chalkwell beach in the afternoon. There were lots of people on the beach.

“The tide was out some way and I was ambling about. I have limited mobility, so I was just plodding about watching the dog and taking photos and videos.

“I let Gemma off the lead and she was having a great time running about with the other dogs sniffing and generally having fun and investigating.

“The next thing I knew someone was shouting the tide was coming in and I realised the shouting was directed at me.”

Mrs Nolan of SouthviewClose, Rayleigh, added: “The pebbles I was standing on had become a little island. The pool on my right was now part of the expanse of sea and the sea on my left was halfway up the beach.

“I called Gemma, and stepped into two inches or so of water.

“Within less than ten seconds what was two inches had become about a foot deep.”

With the water nearly kneedeep, Mrs Nolan was afraid to bend down to pick Gemma up in case she fell.

She said: “Gemma was crying and jumping up my leg, I held her up by the collar, and was becoming increasingly unstable.

“A man with a young boy started to walk down the beach, rolled up his trouser legs and waded in towards us.

“He picked Gemma up and I hung on to his arm to steady myself and he assisted me, enabling me to walk to the shore.

“Everyone cheered him and he strode off and got lost in the crowd. In my panic I lost sight of him and was unable to thank him properly.

“I would like to reimburse him if his boots got damaged.”

As a warning to others the retired administrator added: “I can’t believe it happened so quickly, and silently. I always thought people who got into such predicaments were stupid, but I was incredibly stupid.

“I should never have allowed myself to get so distracted I didn’t knowwhat was going on.

“The water had risen to about 18in up my legs by the time my hero helped me out, another five minutes of so could have resulted in a different outcome.”

If anyone knows Mrs Nolan’s good Samaritan call 01702 321159