Three people from Wootton Bassett drowned along with a German national after they went to the rescue their children off the coast of the Algarve.

Bob and Deb Fry, of Springfield Crescent, and Jean Dinsmore were named by neighbours as the victims. Mr and Mrs Fry's friend Jean Dinsmore, of Coxstalls, Wootton Bassett also drowned, after she waded into the waves to try and rescue the children. Her husband, Roy, and their two children, Lydia and Alex, are being offered assistance by the British Consul from Portugal.

Several adults, including the four who lost their lives, were understood to have dived into the sea off Sagres on the south west coast of Portugal on Monday afternoon to save the children who had got into trouble.

The three children were reported to have suffered minor injuries after they were thrown back on to the beach, but the four adults lost their lives.

Two children have been left without a father and a mother and two children have been left without a mother as a result of the tragedy, the Foreign Office confirmed. Three adults required hospital treatment and one of them, a father, remains in hospital but is reported to be out of danger.

An aunt is beleived to be on the way to the Algarve to look after the children.

The commander of the local maritime police, Pedro Pereira, revealed that the Tonel beach in the resort town of Sagres, where the tragedy occurred, was closed for the winter and signs warned bathers that there were no lifeguards on duty.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Yesterday afternoon at 1650 local time, three British and one German family are at the Tonel beach in Sagres, on a sunny and clear-sky day, when some of the children ran to the water near by a rock in the middle of the beach.

"Suddenly they called for help and their families' adults with some other people nearby ran to rescue them from the sea. There are some currents and some deep waters that caused them to get into distress.

"They asked for help and all the families that are with them, they ran to help them, also some people that were close by. Some parents did not find a way to rescue their sons and also to rescue themselves.

"Because summer season is concluded by September 3, the Tonel beach is closed and there is no life-saving personnel. Reinforcing this, at the entry to the beach there is a sign to warn of this fact."

A former British team surfer said the waves at Sagres are powerful.

Sarah Bentley, 32, who competed in the World Surfing Games in Ecuador in 2004, said the spot where the tragedy occurred was popular with surfers because of the "massive" waves.

Miss Bentley, an advertising consultant for Wave Length magazine, said of the Algarve's south west coast: "I've surfed for 15 years, been to Sagres four times and was last there in February.

"The waves there are more powerful than they are here, they pick up much more swell because of the low pressure.

"The waves do get massive - but day in, day out it gets to about 3ft from the back of the wave which is head high.

"It's very good for surfers, but not good for bathers and people don't necessarily know that.

"You see a wave and don't know how powerful it is until you get out there and try to paddle.

"It is known as a really good spot because of the consistent waves, it stays really temperate and it has culture too."

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