THE grief-stricken aunt of one of the three teenagers washed out to sea at Tywyn has given a terrifying account of what happened that fateful day.

On Tuesday, 31 July, three friends from the West Midlands ran into the sea holding hands in order to play in the surf.

Their playful antics almost immediately took a turn for the worse when the three teenagers - Blake Ward, Brandon Harrison and Michelle Evans - were caught by a chest-height wave and the trio were swept off their feet and out to sea.

After a frantic rescue effort, the three friends were all eventually pulled from the water and given immediate medical treatment before being airlifted to hospital.

Michelle and Brandon were taken by helicopter to Ysbyty Gwynedd, where they were carefully checked over before being discharged later that day.

Blake was flown to Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool but his condition was far more serious.

Tragically, his family was forced to switch off the 16-year-old’s life support machine just four days later after it became clear he could not recover from the ordeal.

Blake, who would have been picking up his GCSE results next week, was on holiday with his girlfriend Stephanie Ray’s family when the terrible incident occurred.

Cheryl Huyton, Michelle’s aunt, was one of the 17 people enjoying the family outing which ended up in tragedy.

“I hadn’t realised that beaches in Gwynedd didn’t have lifeguards. If I’d known that we might have gone somewhere else,” a tearful Cheryl told the Cambrian News.

“At least once a year we would all get together and go on trips. Blake hadn’t been with us very long, but we all counted him as part of the family.

“I didn’t know about the rip tide in the water, and not one of the 17 people in our group spotted the RNLI signs warning us that a rip was present.

“We’re all determined to make sure nothing like this happens ever again, that nobody feels the pain that we’re going through.”

Cheryl spoke about what happened that day.

“Once we saw that people were starting to panic, we dropped everything and ran down to the water,” she said.

“I shouted ‘they’re ours!’ and ran into the sea. The others took the children and took them back on to the beach. All I can remember is people screaming ‘Help them!’.

“I saw the warden come down and heard someone say the RNLI had been called. I could only see Michelle and Brandon, who were being pulled in.

“I came out of the water and started moving down the beach looking for Blake but couldn’t see anything. I saw the RNLI boat moving up and then heard ‘He’s here, he’s here!’.

“I was told to get out of the water and I saw Blake being brought ashore. Then it was all a blur. I know we were in the Slipway pub in a private room upstairs altogether. They were fantastic to us, I remember that.

“Then I had to go to Alder Hey and explain to Blake’s family what had happened. That was without doubt the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.

“Everything since then has just been a case of ‘what if?’. It has been horrendous.”

Cheryl and the families involved have since discussed sea safety measures with Barry Davies, Gwynedd Council’s maritime officer. “I’ve spoken to him about the need for more prominent signage and the need for lifeguards,” she said.