Two men have been pronounced dead after swimming in the sea to rescue children experiencing difficulty at a popular British beach.

Emergency services rushed to Seaton Carew beach in Hartlepool, County Durham, at 3.45pm following concerns from two youngsters.

Officers from Cleveland Police attended the scene alongside with staff from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, UK Coastguard and North East Ambulance Service.

Both children are safe and have been driven to hospital for medical checks.

Superintendent Glen Ward said in a statement: "Our deepest sympathies go out to the families of both the men involved in this tragic incident today.

"Despite the best efforts of emergency services, sadly both men were pronounced dead a short time after being brought out of the sea.

"We are conducting enquiries into the circumstances of what happened today, although the deaths are not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner.

The North East Ambulance Service commented: “We dispatched three ambulance crews, a clinical team leader, a duty officer, three crews from our Hazardous Area Response Team (HART), and requested support from our colleagues at the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) who attended by road.

“Two patients were taken to North Tees Hospital for further treatment.”

As Britain endures its third heatwave of the summer, with tempretures in the North East reaching highs of nearly 30C, Supt Ward added: "I would like to remind everyone that open water comes with serious risks.

"We know it is inviting in the hot weather, but we would encourage people to refrain from entering any open water at all.

"Today we have sadly seen the true tragedy that can happen as a result.

"Please take extra care and enjoy the warm weather as safely as possible."

At least 15 people drowned to death while swimming in open water during the May heatwave.

On Friday, two 18-year-old men passed away in separate incidents at Dovestone Reservoir in Greater Manchester and Darley Abbey Mills in Derbyshire.

Amber alerts have been issued by the UK Health Security Agency for the West Midlands and South West, and yellow alerts for the East Midlands, the North West, the South East, the East of England and London, until Wednesday.