A BBC television crew risked their lives to try to save a couple who were swept to their deaths during an evening stroll by the seaside, an inquest heard yesterday.

Stephen Tickell, 42, and Patricia Evans, 53, from Slough, were visiting Mullion Cove, near the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall. They walking hand in hand along the harbour wall when they were dragged out to sea by a massive wave.

The incident was witnessed by the BBC crew who were preparing to film a sequence about the consequences of climate change for the region. They rushed to the harbourside and threw lifebelts to the couple, who were calling for help.

Julian Sturdy, a producer, managed to get a life ring around Mr Tickell but the rope broke. The bodies of the couple were later recovered by a coastguard helicopter.

Speaking at the inquest in Truro, Cornwall, Mr Sturdy, 41, said: “I could hear a man shouting and a female screaming. The sea was atrocious. I knew it had been a very stormy day.

“The waves were crashing frequently over the harbour wall. I found a life ring and threw it out towards the man. He disappeared from view then he appeared with the life belt around him. He seemed secure and looked determined.

“I yelled at him, ‘It’s going to be all right’ and that help was on its way. I told him to hold on. His best chance was to haul him towards the rocks so he could scramble on them. I looped the rope around the railing.

“It was becoming slack and then tight with the action of the waves, which lifted and dropped him. The rope went tight and then snapped.

“We gave them the best chance we could without losing our lives. I feel very sad and frustrated the life belt was not sufficient.”

Dr David Viner, a research scientist based at the University of East Anglia, who was helping to make the documentary, rushed to the other side of the harbour to try to rescue Ms Evans.

He threw two fishing buoys at her but could not get them near enough for her to cling on to.

Dr Viner, 41, said: “She looked like she was trying to swim but she was very close to the end. She had exhausted herself shouting and was yelling, ‘Help, please help’.”

Mark Killingback, a cameraman, told how he saw the couple swept into the sea. He said: “They appeared to be running between waves towards the sea wall. I could not believe why someone would do something so dangerous. “I glanced away and saw a large wave break and the two figures were not visible. They were in the water.”

Barry Munday, the Mullion coastguard, described the weather on the day of the tragedy as horrendous. He praised the BBC crew’s attempts to save the couple.

He said: “We are talking about hundreds of tonnes of water coming over the sea wall. There had been a heavy squall and it was raining very hard.

The people who were trying to rescue them put their lives in extreme danger that day. They could have drowned.”

Mr Tickell, the manager of a chain of pubs, had two children by a previous marriage and had been the partner of Ms Evans for several years. They died on March 4, the first night of their holiday.

The coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death.

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