A 28-year-old woman soaking up the sun at a nudist beach in the UK let it all hang out as she saved a family from drowning — while topless, according to a report.
Jessica Layton, from Penzance in Cornwall, was sunbathing au naturel at Pedn Vounder, a tidal beach on the southern coast of the Penwith peninsula, on Tuesday before the drama unfolded, Cornwall Live reported.
“It was just after 3 p.m. and the tide was coming in. I decided to go for a final dip before going home,” Layton told the news outlet.
“I was topless in the sea when I saw two young women struggling to swim near rocks. Another member of the family ran in to help them and she started struggling, too,” she said.
“I swam towards them and thought, ‘Oh s—‘ as I realized how strong the rip current was. I was struggling myself and they were panicking, which wasn’t ideal in a situation like that,” Layton added.
The two sisters and a cousin were in serious trouble.
“I was going to tell them to float, which is the best thing you can do in a rip current, but they were panicking so much, it wouldn’t have worked,” Layton said. “They were all holding hands, so I grabbed one of their hands and pulled them all onto the beach.”
Layton, a performer with Cornwall’s Rogue Theatre, said one of the relieved women later asked if she was a lifeguard.
“Aren’t you strong?” the woman asked, the actor and singer told the outlet.
“I’m not sure where all the strength came from,” the nudist beach regular said, adding that she had actually been wearing nothing at all before the rescue.
“Fortunately, I’d just put my bikini bottoms on before it happened. It’s a classic — of course I was going to be topless when something like this happens!” she said.
Pedn Vounder, which is known among locals for being dangerous due to powerful rip currents, doesn’t have a lifeguard.
“It’s lucky I was there — it’s really weird thinking it happened, I can’t quite grasp it,” said Layton, whose friends have hailed her as a hero.
One person wrote on Facebook: “Local hero saves family from certain death with her norks out!”
Another friend said that “not all heroes wear capes, some of them don’t even wear bikini tops.”