Sergeant Robbie Jones (36), of the Welsh Guards, rescued a ten-year-old boy and a young girl on Sunday evening after they and a group of adults were swept out to sea by a ferocious riptide.
Surfers also joined the rescue operation at the Watersplash, helping Sandrine Locher (25), Vanessa Wiliams (33) and Rita Jesus (26) to safety.
Seven people were taken to hospital for check ups, including 12-year-old Abbey Chapman and ten-year-old Tylor Ryan, who has sworn never to go in the sea again.
Sgt Jones, who served in Iraq, Bosnia and Northern Ireland, said that he had never been in such a powerful current.
‘I had heard about the sea being bad but never thought it could be like that,’ he said.
• See Tuesday’s JEP for full story.
