The beach where three Britons lost their lives trying to save a group of children caught in strong currents was too dangerous for unknowing swimmers, locals said today.

Robert and Deborah Fry and their friend Barbara Jean Dinsmore from Wootton Bassett drowned in waters off the south west coast of Portugal on Monday afternoon.

It is understood the children were warned about the dangerous currents off a treacherous stretch of the Algarve coast in the seaside village of Sagres.

Joao Conceicao, 20, who works at a local bar, said: "I hate that beach because it's too dangerous."

He said body boarders at the Tonel beach warned the children the water was "too dangerous for you to go out".

The adults rushed into the waves after their children got into difficulties, but while the youngsters were saved, the parents were caught out by the currents.

A German father died of a heart attack after saving his child.

A restaurant manageress, who did not want to be named, said her father was a member of the lifeboat crew who tried to save the group.

He was too devastated to speak of the events, she said.

"It's really had a big impact on the village - this sort of thing has never happened before.

"Normally I use that beach because I like it. It's a nice beach and people surf there.

"I've never seen an accident like that."

She said some days there were "really big waves" although on Monday they were "not so big".

She continued: "It's really dangerous for people who don't know the beach."

She said some of the body boarders had tried to save the children and a 15-year-old local boy had managed to rescue one of them.

Part-time lifeguard Daniel Salvaterra, who was not on duty, said he had warned the British youngsters to leave the water 15 minutes before they got into trouble.

Mr Salvaterra, 33, who runs a surf school on Tonel beach where the drownings happened, told the Times: "I was on the beach and saw the children out playing in the currents. The water wasn't very deep, just up to their waists but I went out and told them it was dangerous and they came back to the beach."

He added that 15 minutes later as he headed to his car he heard the trouble on the beach, but by time he reached the shore the youngsters were safe and he could not help save the adults.

"The trouble is the guys who went out to save the children were trying to fight against the currents, which made them panic and get tired," he said.

The 33-year-old also told the Sun there were no warning signs to alert swimmers about the treacherous currents.

He said: "There are signs for everything else - no litter, no dogs, no camping - but nothing at all to warn about the water."

But Marian Emerson, 52, who is from Dublin and who owns a holiday home in the Sagres area, said nobody was to blame for the accident.