A mum whose three daughters owe their lives to a Norfolk lifeboat station is running the London Marathon for the charity that saves lives at sea.
Twins Daisy and Molly Cole, then aged 12 and their older sister Zoe were left clinging to a marker buoy after they were cut off by the tide at Brancaster in August, 2013.
Volunteers from Hunstanton RNLI attended the scene on board the station's hovercraft, arriving just as the tired trio began losing their grip in the fierce tide.
Daisy, Molly and Zoe were all plucked from the sea and returned safely to shore by the crew.
Now their mother, Stacey O'Donnell from Wisbech, Cambs, is training to run the London Marathon on Sunday 21 April, to raise funds for the RNLI.
'I'd have lost all three without them', said NHS healthcare assistant Stacey, 52. 'As a family, we're forever grateful to the RNLI.
'I owe them more than I could ever put into words for their heroic actions on that day which saved their lives.
'I'm not a runner, but I'm training. And I'm going to finish it whatever, even if I have to walk across the finishing line.'
The family met long-serving volunteer Vic Dade when they visited Hunstanton RNLI over the weekend.
Vic, who joined the station as a tractor driver in 1979, was the hovercraft pilot on the day of the rescue.
The shout that came in from HM Coastguard said a group had been cut off by the tide near the notorious Wreck Sands.
But as the hovercraft took off and Vic opened the throttles, a message came in over the radio to say there were now people in the water - meaning they were in grave danger.
'We knew those girls were in danger and we knew we didn't have long.'
One crew member leapt into the sea after arriving at the scene, while colleagues hauled the exhausted casualties on board and administered care before the hovercraft returned to shore.
Those who were rescued still remember a day by the sea which could have ended very differently.
'It was very scary, every time I go to the beach I still think back to that moment,' said Daisy, now 23, who works as a teaching assistant and is studying an Open University English Literature degree.
'I was really panicked, I was stressing, I'd got myself into such a state. I thought we were going to die.'
Molly, who now works for a London PR company, added: 'Whenever I come back to Norfolk and go to the beach, it's something I always think about.'
Whenever Stacey laces up her running shoes, she remembers the afternoon when the RNLI gave her back her family.
Notes to editor
Dramatic footage of the rescue at Brancaster attached, along with images - please credit RNLI/Chris Bishop for any use.
Hunstanton RNLI operates a fast inshore lifeboat, Spirit of West Norfolk and is one of just four to also operate a search and rescue hovercraft.
Like more than 200 stations around the coast of the UK and Ireland, Its crew's lifesaving work is funded entirely by donations and legacies.
RNLI media contacts
For more information call Chris Bishop, Hunstanton RNLI volunteer Deputy Lifeboat Press Officer on 07584 147219 or Clare Hopps, Regional Media Officer on 07824 518641.
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.
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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
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