Family 'forever grateful' to off-duty sergeant who rescued children from drowning at Lossiemouth Beach

The family of a brother and sister rescued from strong currents at Lossiemouth Beach say they will be forever grateful to the off-duty Army sergeant who went to their aid.

Martin Simpson jumped into the sea to pull two-and-a-half-year-old Sia Musgrave and her nine-year-old brother Coen to safety last Saturday.

Now, their mum hopes the incident will serve as a reminder to others to be safe at the seaside.

Sergeant Simpson, who is a welfare sergeant with the Royal Engineers at Kinloss Barracks, was off duty and had taken his daughter to the beach when he spotted the youngsters in difficulty.

He told STV News: “Immediately, I felt the current pushing against me. It was quite strong, so it must have been very difficult for them.

“I managed to grab them, one in each hand and shouted, ‘push, push, kick your legs’.

“It took a few seconds for me to get my feet on the ground, and I managed to push forward and, with the water surge, I got them back onto dry land.”

The children’s father was close by, but the incident happened in a matter of seconds.

Coen attempted to rescue Sia, only to be carried off by the currents with her. STV News

Nine-year-old Coen said: “The tide was going out and the current was really strong. Sia tripped backwards and the current just took her.

“I jumped in for her and then the current was taking us both. Then Martin jumped in for us.

“It won’t happen again. Next time we’re down there, my dad will come with us.”

The children’s mum Claire says the family will be forever grateful to Martin and wants others to be aware of how quickly accidents can happen.

“My husband was only a few yards behind Martin, but that extra five or ten seconds made a difference.

“We are not naïve at all. We know the area, we know it can be dangerous with the current and the sinking sands, but the tide was so far out we didn’t even think there would be any problem.

“There was hardly any water but recently the landscape of the beach has changed quite a bit. There are areas we don’t know anymore. We thought they were safe.

“We’re really thankful.”