Two men have died after trying to rescue children who had got into difficulty in the sea in Hartlepool.
Police, coastguards, paramedics and the RNLI rushed to the scene at Seaton Carew Beach in County Durham at around 3.45pm today.
After entering the water to try and assist the children, they were both brought out by the RNLI.
Tragically, despite receiving immediate medical attention, both men were pronounced dead a short time later.
The children were deemed safe and were taken to hospital to be checked over.
The families of the men are being supported by specialist officers from Cleveland Police.
To provide well-rounded coverage and a breadth of insight across various events, we rely on contributions from several staff writers, each bringing their own area of expertise to our publication.
