A TILLICOULTRY man has spoken of the terror his family endured when his 14-year-old daughter was swept out to sea while they were on holiday.

Jamie McEwan and his family went to Arbroath for a family holiday and decided to take a trip to the beach in Montrose on July 17.

But what started as a nice family outing soon turned into a nightmare as Jamie and his partner Kelly heard their daughter, Kaitlynn, scream from the water.

Jamie told the Advertiser: “Kaitlynn was in the water with some of her friends on a pink inflatable flamingo. All of a sudden, I just started hearing her scream and saw that she was about 30 yards from shore.

“I sprinted right down the beach but she was getting further away, so I ran in and the water came right up to my neck. I just froze and my chest closed up. I felt like I was having a heart attack and then something just clicked inside me.

“I started swimming but she was getting further away. It felt like nothing I was doing was making a difference. By this point the flamingo was deflating as well because her shoe buckle had caught it.”

Jamie sensed that the only way Kaitlynn would survive would be to get herself off the inflatable device and start swimming towards her dad, which she managed to do.

They eventually reached each other 100 yards from shore, although Jamie had to use all his strength and power to convince his youngest child to not give up and keep kicking her way back to land.

“It felt like forever getting back. When we were about 15 yards out, the coastguard and lifeguard arrived and pulled us in. I saw Kaitlynn in her mum’s arms so I just collapsed. Another couple of guys had tried swimming out to help but said because of the tide, it felt like swimming against a brick wall.”

The 38-year-old dad-of-two said there was a point when he feared he may never see his daughter again.

He continued: “When I was standing with the water at my neck and felt my chest close, I really thought the worst. I thought I had lost her but something clicked in me. I knew I couldn’t let that happen.”

Jamie and Kaitlynn attended Ninewells Hospital that day and were treated for shock before they had a relaxing night in the caravan and said that his family were still trying to recover from what happened.

He added: “We were just in so much shock. We are going to try and get back down to the beach this week to see how she is with it but she won’t be going near the water again without me with her.”

Jamie and partner Kelly are now advising people to ditch the inflatables.

He said: “They should be banned at the beach. As soon as there is any wind it carries them out. They’re fine at an enclosed pool but definitely not at a beach. It will end in tragedy for someone one day.”