A pet owner who “feared the worst” when her frightened dog ran into the sea has described the rescue as like something from a movie. Seren, a three-year-old golden retriever, was found 300 metres from the shore off Newton Beach, in Porthcawl, by an RNLI lifeboat crew after getting spooked by the sound of a car boot closing on Saturday. Her owners, Andrea Phillips and her partner Richard – who had rescued Seren just five weeks earlier, “feared the worst” as she swam into the sea and disappeared out of sight.

But Ms Phillips said the sight of the RNLI crew wading out of the water carrying her dog to safety was like something from a movie. Ms Phillips said: “I’ve rescued many dogs in my time, but Seren is definitely the most traumatised. “She had just been getting comfortable with her regular beach walks. On Saturday we were planning to go out with her and had carefully placed her in the car boot when she seemed calm.

“As we clicked the key to close the car boot we think the noise must have spooked her because she leapt out and immediately was running across the dunes and down onto the beach.”. Unable to catch up with Seren, another dog walker tried to help get hold of her, but she was so scared she ran into the sea. The dog walker then shouted for Ms Phillips to call the Coastguard. “The person on the phone was brilliant at keeping me calm, but I was losing faith as we could no longer see Seren she’d swum so far out and I feared the worst,” Ms Phillips said.

HM Coastguard requested Porthcawl RNLI to launch their Atlantic 85 lifeboat Rose of the Shires. The crew, on their first rescue of the year, instantly located an exhausted Seren around 300m from the shore near Newton Point as she was being swept further and further out to sea by the tidal current. Ms Phillips added: “I honestly can’t thank the volunteer RNLI crew enough for saving Seren. They turned a nightmare into a dream.

“It was like something out of a movie seeing the crew member in their kit carrying Seren from the lifeboat through the shallows. “I also want to thank the fellow dog walker Josh, for all his help and quick thinking to make the 999 call to the Coastguard.”. Porthcawl RNLI helm Chris Missen said: “Thankfully we spotted Seren as soon as we came around Newton Point and we were able to recover her onboard the lifeboat. She was a little shaken but otherwise unharmed.”.

He added: “Andrea did the right thing by calling 999 and asking for the Coastguard. “We were delighted to be able to rescue Seren and reunite her with Andrea and family. A heartwarming ending for our first rescue of the year. “When it comes to dogs in the water our safety advice is to never enter the water after your dog, as you could end up in difficulty yourself. “Instead, dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard.”.