A WOMAN from Kent died in Australia today rescuing her 12-year-old daughter after she was caught in a dangerous rip, Queensland rescue services reported.

The 37-year-old was herself rescued from the water but collapsed on the shore.

She was flown to hospital but died without regaining consciousness. Her daughter and her husband were both pulled from the sea to safety.

Australian police said the family had been on Teewah Beach, at Double Island Point.

The mother got out of the water and started walking but then she collapsed and never regained life, a Queensland police spokeswoman said.

The beach, part of Queensland's Sunshine Coast, is about 100 miles and two hours' drive north of Brisbane.

The girl got into difficulties, her father went to her rescue and in turn began to struggle, leaving the mother to go the assistance of them both.

All three were rescued by passers-by using ropes and the woman was able to walk before she collapsed. She was taken by helicopter to hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

A Queensland police spokeswoman said: "It was not a drowning - the mother got out of the water and started walking but then she collapsed and never regained life."

Don Williams, one of three people who rescued the family, was fishing on nearby rocks when the girl was swept away by the current.

He said: "She was able to hang onto the rope and the young bloke with me was able to pull her in."

The girl was being comforted by her father having been taken to hospital in the nearby town of Gympie, but not admitted, the spokesman said.

She and her father are being accommodated nearby, he said. A Foreign Office spokeswoman said the woman's relatives had been told of her death and that consular staff were providing assistance.

The woman has not been named and it has not yet been revealed where in Kent the family are from.