A SCHOOLGIRL'S prompt action helped save the life of two brothers in trouble off the Kent coast.

Katie Perkins, 15, who lives in Waterside Lane, Gillingham had been sunbathing on the beach at Leysdown, on the Isle of Sheppey, when she noticed a man having problems with a jetski.

Katie watched as his two brothers aged 19 and 22 swam out through intensely cold water, but could not help him fix the problem.

She had been checking their progress and immediately dialled 999 when she realised they were having difficulty swimming back.

Whitstable Life Boat reached them in seven minutes, taking them ashore where Sheppey Coastguards administered first aid until an ambulance arrived.

Coastguard Neville Crane said: “The water is extremely cold because it has not warmed up at all this summer, it sapped their strength, they ran out of puff and were in danger of drowning."

* See the Medway Messenger (Friday, September 7) for the full story.