Husband died in 'heroic rescue'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/shropshire/7125512.stm

Version 0 of 1.

A woman who witnessed her husband and five-year-old son drown in the sea while on holiday in Spain has been speaking about the accident.

Symon Howlett, 32, from Shropshire, rescued one son, Thomas, nine, but died along with his younger son Jay at Tossa de Mar, on the Costa Brava.

Debbie Howlett said her sons were playing a safe distance from the sea when a freak wave hit them last month.

She described her husband as a hero for acting so unselfishly.

Reports that Mr Howlett was taking photos of their sons on some rocks at the time they were swept into the sea were inaccurate, she said.

Jay and Thomas were a safe distance form the sea, says Debbie

In a statement, Mrs Howlett, from Market Drayton, said the freak wave came in and swept Jay into the water and knocked Thomas off his feet and partly into the sea.

After rescuing Thomas, Mr Howlett went after Jay. He managed to hold him in his arms, but there was no lifesaving equipment nearby.

By the time a helicopter and lifeboat arrived the pair could no longer be seen in the water.

Their bodies were later recovered from the water 30m (98ft) from the beach.

Mrs Howlett thanked staff at the hotel where they had been staying and workers at the British Embassy for helping them deal with the tragedy.

Relatives flew out to Spain to comfort Mrs Howlett and Thomas after the accident on 21 November.

Jay was described as a "happy, lively and bright boy", by his head teacher Margaret Malcolm.