On a bright day in June, two sunbathers on a rock ledge at Mawgan Forth, Cornwall, were blissfully unaware that the tide was coming in and that they would soon be in dangerAs part of their daily routine, Mawgan Porth RNLI lifeguards check the rocks on the southern end of the beach before the incoming tide cuts anybody off. On 23 June 2005, they spotted a couple sunbathing on a rock ledge. As the pair was near the cliff path, the lifeguards were unconcerned. With over 2,000 people on the beach, they turned their attention back to patrolling between the flags.

A few minutes later the lifeguards checked again. The pair hadn't reached safety via the cliff path; they'd climbed onto an isolated rock outcrop and were sitting there, apparently relaxed. Behind them was a 30m sheer cliff. Using a megaphone, the lifeguards now encouraged the couple to move, explaining that they could easily wade to safety if they went now. When, five minutes later, the couple hadn't moved, the lifeguards warned them once again.

Senior Lifeguard Anton Page recalls: 'We couldn't understand why the couple were just sitting there. At one point the man was smoking. This may have been an attempt to calm his nerves, but in fact it just wasted valuable time.' All this time, the higher the tide got, the more the waves were smashing against the rocks. The situation was getting serious, so Anton sent Lifeguard John Hamilton to check on the couple.

John swam with his rescue tube out to the rocks. As soon as he reached them, John discovered why the pair hadn't followed instructions: they couldn't speak English. The tourists, thought to be from Eastern Europe, were confused and beginning to panic. John signalled for the woman to come off the rock ledge and join him in the chest-deep water, but she refused. The man had now left his partner to her own devices and was scrambling across the rocks with his gear. John radioed back to base for assistance.

Within minutes, the water deepened with a strong current and large surf and John still couldn't coax the woman into the water.

Anton joined John while Lifeguard Mark Richards remained on patrol and monitored the rescue. Anton pulled himself out of the water and climbed 3m up the rocks. He was familiar with the area, but the climb was no mean feat with large surf pounding the rock face.

Up on the ledge, Anton remembers thinking:'If I can't get her off the rocks quickly, I won't be able to get her off at all. There was no time for help to arrive, with the tide and big swell running. In another 15-20 minutes they would have been smashed into the cliff face.'Words were useless; it was time for action. Anton took a firm hold of the woman and jumped with her into deep water. Once off the rocks, she calmed down and cooperated.

To get away from the strong current and the rocks, Anton paddled out through the surf break with the woman on his rescue board.

Then the surf helped push them back inshore to safety.

Meanwhile, as feared, the man was knocked off the rocks by a large wave. John reacted quickly, assisting him back up onto the rocks. He guided the tourist along a ledge back to shore.

Lifeguards reunited the pair and gave them first aid for cuts and grazes. Anton recalls: The couple were understandably rattled and embarrassed. Despite this, they still managed to thank us in broken English.'.