A father related how his wife and two family friends drowned while trying to rescue their children after they were caught in a powerful riptide off a beach in Portugal.

Roy Dinsmore, 48, had been supervising the children as they played in the waves at Sagres, a popular surfing resort on the Algarve.

Mr Dinsmore told an inquest that as the tide went out the waves became bigger and two of the children were swept off their feet and out to sea. As he swam out he noticed that his wife Barbara, 43, a school governor, was also in the water and in difficulty.

The couple’s friends, Robert and Deborah Fry, also dived in to help while Mr Dinsmore, an energy consultant, was helping a teenage German girl to shore.

He told the inquest in Swindon: “I became aware that other adults were in difficulty. My wife was near by and struggling. Somebody, I’m not sure who, took the German girl from me and I swam to try and get my wife. I got hold of her and tried to rescue her. With hindsight she must have taken water on board. She was a strong swimmer.

“Surf was crashing over our heads, making it difficult to float. She was conscious, but a wave broke over our heads and I lost my grip on her. It took me minutes to discover where she was. She was face down in the sea. She was conscious but very little else. I tried to make some headway to keep ourselves afloat, but she was torn from my grasp. She disappeared. I struggled to find her.

“I had been in the water for half an hour. I didn’t know where she was and managed to get myself out of the sea.”

The Fry family, from Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire, were also swept out “fairly quickly” after they dived into the sea to help. Their children Rosie, 12, and George, 9, were orphaned by the tragedy.

A Portuguese pathologist gave the cause of all three deaths as drowning.

The Dinsmores, also from Wootton Bassett, and their children Lydia, 11, and Alex, 9, were staying at a villa owned by the Frys. Dean and Sue Plumb and their children, Sam, 11, and Harry, 7, were also on the trip. The three families were visiting Praia do Tonel, near Sagres, which is a beach popular with surfers and bodyboarders. Although it is known for strong currents, there were few signs of the possible dangers, the inquest was told.

Recording a verdict of death by misadventure, Peter Hatvany, the deputy coroner for Wiltshire and Swindon, paid tribute to the bravery of the adults who lost their lives trying to save their children.

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