A young charity volunteer from Canterbury drowned after being caught in a rip tide while paddling knee-deep on a South African beach, an inquest heard.

Alice Barnett, 19, was celebrating completing a 10-week work placement and had entered the water for an after-dinner dip with friends.

Miss Barnett had been due to return home to her family in the city following a stay at a remote camping resort in the Eastern Cape.

A coroner’s court was told Miss Barnett and four pals had got into difficulty just 300 feet from the picturesque beach at Woody Cape near Port Elizabeth.

Lifeguards mounted a frantic rescue operation after hearing their desperate cries and were able to pull three of them to safety.

But Miss Barnett and her friend Summer Robertson, from Shropshire, were not so lucky, the court heard.

Miss Robertson had died by the time she was pulled to shore while the body of Miss Barnett was washed up on the beach a day later.

The tragedy occurred in December last year in turbulent waters known for their strong currents and tides, where the south Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean.

"We were just paddling and splashing about. It was still light when they entered the water..." - Mr MacKaill

Patrick Jasper - who was in the sea with the girls - told the court of the horrifying moment he watched them swept away after being hit by a large wave.

Mr Jasper described how panic set in as the wave headed towards them as they paddled in the sea with fellow volunteer Charlotte Underwood and trip organiser Matt MacKaill.

“After about 20 minutes we decided to head back because the currents were getting a bit strong,” said Mr Jasper.

“We saw a wave heading towards us, and all three girls started to panic, and said they couldn't stand up.

“I told Alice and Summer to relax, as Lottie had started floating on her back and seemed to know what she was doing.

“I didn't see Alice again, and some five minutes later I was washed up by a large wave, and after a few waves we were spread out.

“I was eventually able to make it back into the shallow water, where I was taken to safety by a lifeguard.”

Mr Jasper told the court there were no signs around the resort to warn people about the dangers.

A sixth member of the group, Ellie Abraham, also went with them to the beach but had decided to stay on the shore.

She told how she had been sitting on the beach when she heard her friends had got into trouble and ran back up to the resort, where a party of lifeguards had been staying, to raise the alarm.

Speaking by video link from South Africa, Mr MacKaill, manager of Lattitude Global Volunteering, told Shropshire Coroner’s Court how he was second into the sea on the evening, following Mr Jasper.

He testified that the other three were some distance behind, adding: “I would say I was thigh to waist-height in the water, while the girls were probably about knee-high.”

"Alice and Summer were popular members of their team, who had generously given their time to support others. Their deaths are truly a most terrible loss..." - Joanne Smithson, Lattitude

When asked by Sam Jones, who was representing the families of Miss Barnett and Miss Robertson, Mr MacKaill agreed that he had co-authored guidelines which advised against swimming in the dark or at dusk in South Africa.

He had also recommended sticking to beaches which were supervised with lifeguards and to seek the advice of locals before entering the water.

Woody Cape was not supervised, the court heard.

But Mr MacKaill said the guidance was specifically for swimming and that nobody in the group had any intention of doing that.

“We were just paddling and splashing about. It was still light when they entered the water,” he said.

Expert witness Tim Scott, a marine scientist at Plymouth University, said Woody Cape was typical of the type of beach which would have experienced strong rip currents.

He said it was possible the group might have entered the sea in an area where it was relatively calm, but strayed into a danger area.

Shropshire senior coroner John Ellery said he would be looking at what steps could be taken to reduce the risk of a similar tragedy in future.

Recording a narrative conclusion, Mr Ellery said: “The deceased died in the sea having entered the water unaware of the risks of rip current and were unable to escape when caught.”

In a statement after the inquest, Lattitude’s chief executive Joanne Smithson said several new measures were introduced in February following an internal.

She said: “Lattitude Global Volunteering has a long track record of enabling young people to undertake volunteering projects in many countries around the globe, furthering their personal development and benefiting the communities where they live and work.

“In doing this nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our volunteers.

“Alice and Summer were popular members of their team, who had generously given their time to support others.

“Their deaths are truly a most terrible loss.”

Speaking shortly after the tragedy, Alice’s distraught father Pete Gallagher, an actor and director, had told the Evening Standard newspaper: “No words to say how devastated we are to have lost our beloved angel Alice”.

“She just went out to South Africa because she wanted to help people. She had the time of her life when she was in Cambodia last year for six weeks and wanted to do a longer trip this time.

“Alice was my hero.”

A JustGiving page set up in Miss Barnett's memory has raised almost £9,000 for Lattitude Global Volunteering.