A KITE surfer has shared how he and his friends saved the lives of two teenagers who nearly drowned at sea.

Zak Bermon, Adam Toms and Megan Ware were out kite surfing on Thursday night when distressed children flagged them down asking if they could look for their friends.

A 14-year-old girl and boy had been swept out by a rip current near the sandbanks of Shoebury Barge Pier.

The teenagers were struggling in the water after being caught in the outgoing tide, and were a mile away from the beach.

Mr Bermon, 23, who has only recently started kite surfing, said: “I eventually found them but I couldn’t get to them, the way the wind was blowing and tide was taking them.

“I was messing around for about ten minutes to get them but I couldn’t, so I had to leave them and go back and get help, which probably scared them down to a tee.

“The coastguard was called, and we went back out on our boards.

“I had no idea where they were. I could hear them but I couldn’t see them, for about ten or 15 minutes we were looking.”

Thankfully, the surfers found the two teenagers, and with their help, they were dragged onto the sandbanks.

Once both of them were secure, the surfers walked them back towards dry land.

Mr Bermon added: “Nothing has come close to that, it’s scary how far out they were.

“Hearing them - 14 year olds screaming at the top of their lungs - is not nice.

“When I went back in to get help I was doing things on my board I hadn’t done before. The pressure was on.”

The teenagers were treated by paramedic crews.

A spokesman for Southend Coastguard said: “This was an extremely close call for both casualties and shows the dangers of walking out onto the sandbanks and water channels.”