The mother of the 14-year-old girl says the family will always think of Sidmouth and its people with ‘great gratitude and appreciation’.

Quick thinking lifesavers have been commended by a Russian family for saving their 'beautiful girl'.

The 14-year-old, Daria Stolyarchuk, a Sidmouth International School student, was airlifted to hospital in Bristol after collapsing on Sidmouth beach on Friday June 28.

In a letter to the Herald, her mother, Anna, said without the intervention of 'fantastic' emergency services, Jurassic Paddle Sport staff and the school their daughter would not have survived.

She said: "In particular I cannot praise too highly the very prompt actions of the Sidmouth International School leader 'Rich' and Guy Russell and Maddie Todd of Jurassic Paddle Sports who were so alert and demonstrated such expert skill and attention in administering life saving skills. I thank them not only for their professionalism but also their humanity and all the best human qualities and characteristics.

"I would also like to commend the fantastic response of the land and air ambulances and local coastguards who were so quickly on the scene with their professional teams.

"Thank you all so much for your care without which my daughter would not have survived her collapse.

"Our family will always think of the place and people of Sidmouth with great gratitude and appreciation. Thanks to them our beautiful, lovely girl has survived and will live."