A TRIP to the beach turned into a lucky escape for holidaymaker Tariq Sheik.

And now the photographer, who captured moments of his rescue on camera, wants to thank the RNLI for saving him.

Mr Sheik, 34, was staying with his grandmother, Elsie Mercer, 84, in Ivybridge at the time of the incident.

He was taking underwater photos of a friend at Bigbury beach last Wednesday when the rip tide started to 'throw him around'.

An off-duty lifeguard saw his distress and acted quickly, alerting his colleague and bringing Mr Sheik back to the beach safely.

Mr Sheik sustained no injuries but was shaken by the event, wondering what could have happened had it not been for the lifeguards' observations.

He said: 'I was filming my friend with an underwater camera while he was bodyboarding and I thought everything was perfectly safe.

'But then I got caught in a severe rip tide on the west side of the beach. Luckily an off duty life guard called Jason spotted me.

'He asked "are you OK?" after seeing I was in the rip tide and I foolishy responded, "yes".

'The truth was that the current was tossing me around like a butterfly in a storm.

He soon signalled to lifeguard Lizi Ruddy, who dramatically threw her yellow rescue board into the wash and paddled towards me.

'A minute later, Lizi presented the rescue board to me which I scrambled onto, pulling myself into the middle.

'Lizi then paddled us both back into shore. There was a moment when a menacing wave pushed the board over both of us, but we could ground our feet and walked the rest of the way into safety.

'In short, I was saved by two heroes and have to commend their amazing work.

'I don't know what would have happened had they not been there.'

Elsie Mercer, Tariq's grandmother was also grateful for the lifeguards' action. She said: 'Tariq's always taking photos, out on his bike or generally being active. But it was very frightening to think this happened. Thank you and well done to the lifeguards for saving him.'

RNLI lifeguard manager Simon Crayfourd said: 'It's always nice to get feedback from the people the RNLI lifeguards help on the beaches and I'm very pleased that the team at Sedgewell Cove were able to help Tariq to safety when he found himself caught in the rip current.

'It can be a scary and potentially dangerous experience and the incident highlights the importance of going to a beach with lifeguard cover, where the experienced lifesavers are on hand to offer advice and should you find yourself in difficultly in the water, will respond immediately.'