TWO jet skiers had a "very lucky" escape after getting into difficulty in the Severn Estuary within sight of a rescue team which was training nearby.

The pair ended up in the water without buoyancy aids whilst launching jet skis from the slipway at Beachley, next to the Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA) base.

And a SARA volunteer said that if they had not been there, the incident - last Sunday morning, September 15 - would have ended in tragedy.

The tide was flowing out quickly and eddying strongly towards the M48 Severn Bridge when the incident happened.

South Wales Argus:

The slipway underneath the M48 Severn Bridge

Several members of a SARA team were watching the jet ski launches from the organisation's base.

"The team were able to run down quickly with throwbags," reads a SARA statement.

"Other team members prepared SARA Lifeboat 3 and brought her down the slipway.

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"A third member of the public launched one of the jet skis and then capsized it, but managed to recover."

The two people in the water were rescued using a combination of SARA throwbags and the jet ski. The lifeboat ended up not needing to be launched.

One of the people involved had been in the water for a considerable period so an ambulance was called.

South Wales Argus:

A SARA crew conduct a training manoeuvre on the River Usk in Newport

The SARA statement continued: "The team stretchered him up to the station and provided first aid until the ambulance arrived. Further use of the jet skis was abandoned for the day."

Mike Duggan, a SARA volunteer who forms part of the Newport team based at Malpas Fire Station, added: "If we hadn't been there it would've been three bodies we'd have pulled from the water.

"If you're that close to the water you should be wearing a life jacket. "It was very lucky we were there on normal training in that area otherwise it would've been too long for them to wait."

To find out more about the work of SARA, to make a donation, or to join SARA as a volunteer, visit sara-rescue.org.uk