Video: Dramatic rescue of dad and daughter caught in riptide on Whitby coast

While he credits the RNLI and Coastguard for eventually plucking them from the sea, it was his quick-thinking removing his shirt and using it as a flotation device that kept Mr Biltcliffe and Grace safe until help came.

The pair, from Ripon, had been on a last minute holiday to Stoupe Beck Sands, close to Robin Hood’s Bay, along with Grace’s brother Peter, 12, the children’s mother Allanah Yeatman, 49, and her partner, Hugh Miller, 30, last month, when they got into difficulty playing in waist-high water in the surf.

Neither Mr Biltcliffe, 45, nor Mr Miller, who was with them, realised they were in danger.

He said: “Grace was in the middle of Hugh and I and we were holding a hand each. Occasionally she was getting pulled backwards a bit with the waves but always parallel to where Hugh and I were and never very far away.

“Then at one point, Grace got swept slightly to the side. She was no more than an arm’s length away but when I reached out to grab her, I realised that I wasn’t standing on as much sand as before.”

He continued: “At first I thought we must have mistakenly gone into a deeper part of the sea and didn’t put two and two together.

“What I didn’t realise was that the beach was literally getting washed away from under us.”

Mr Miller did his best to reach the pair, to no avail, and Ms Yeatman and Peter watched in horror as they got into deeper and deeper waters.

After 15 minutes of struggling in the breakers, Mr Biltcliffe began to realise that he was going to have to “think his way out” .

He said: “Fortunately I was wearing a short sleeved shirt in the sea and I decided that I would take that off and try to use it as a flotation device.

“It actually proved really difficult to do while I was holding Grace up and I knew that I could only do one thing at a time.

“That was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do as a father - to push my daughter away while I got this shirt off but I just couldn’t hold on to her while trying to get it off.”

Eventually, Mr Biltcliffe and Grace where able to use to shirt to help them keep afloat - a “huge relief”.

He said: “By now we were getting further and further out to sea which was actually better because the waves were getting less. But I knew there was no way we were going to get back to the shore ourselves.”

With the alarm raised on shore, Mr Biltcliffe admitted that both he and his daughter were starting to tire and get cold.

He said: “Grace was fantastic, she was really helping herself stay up but it was getting quite cold and we were getting really tired.”

After 45 minutes in the sea, the Coastguard helicopter came out to mark their position to help guide the RNLI’s Whitby-based lifeboat to where the were stranded.

The pair were checked over in the boat before the decision was made to winch them into the helicopter and take them to hospital in Middlebrough.

Mr Biltcliffe said: “We are incredibly thankful to the RNLI for saving our lives - without them we wouldn’t have been able to get back to the shore.”

HALF-TERM WARNING

The RNLI has issued advice to anyone visiting the coast this half-term holiday.

The charity, which relies on donations to fund its lifeboats, is raising awareness of the potential dangers of the sea and advising people how to look after themselves to prevent getting into trouble.

They offered the following coastal safety tips:

• Check the weather and tide times before going to the coast;

• Read safety signs and be aware of local hazards;

• Carry a means of calling for help;

• If you see someone in danger, dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard.

For more detailed safety advice visit www.RNLI.org/RespectTheWater