THE devastated owners of a dog which drowned on Watchet's West Street beach have warned other pet owners and parents to be on their guard.

Young Brandon Mills, 11, had been walking family pet, five-year-old Jack Russell Buster, on the beach on Saturday afternoon when the dog either slipped or jumped into water flowing onto the beach from the Washford River.

Buster immediately disappeared below the surface, sucked under by strong, swirling currents and is believed to have become trapped under rock armour surrounding the outfall pipe.

Such was the strength of the current, Brandon was also dragged towards the water and was forced to let go of Buster's lead.

The distraught youngster ran to two men walking nearby in the hope they could save his dog.

The men warned him his pet was unlikely to survive and offered him their mobile phone so he could call home.

Mum Cheryl Mills and partner Paul Clavey raced to the beach from their home in Kingsland, Watchet, and Paul jumped in to try and find Buster.

But he too was in danger of being dragged under: "Brandon was very upset saying Buster was under the rock and might be in an air hole.

"So Paul jumped in the water and was shocked that he was dragged straight under, too.

"Fortunately, he had hold of a rock and he managed to climb out but he said if Brandon had gone in he would not have stood a chance," Cheryl said.

She said the family were shocked and upset and had no idea what to do next, so Brandon contacted friend Katrina Bale - wife of Watchet Coastguard Simon Bale - for help.

"She was amazing and just took over - she made all the necessary telephone calls, she picked Brandon up and took him to meet coastguards and later told us they had found Buster but, unfortunately, he was dead as we had feared.

"She then took Paul to collect Buster and even brought him home and helped bury him and console my three children as I was still in shock at the thought of what could have happened to Brandon.

"We would all like to say a massive thanks to her as she was amazing," Cheryl said.

Both Cheryl and Paul grew up in the area and neither were aware that the river outfall could be dangerous, having both paddled in the pool of water by the pipe as children.

Paul said he believed the addition of the rock armour, heavy rain and tide conditions had created a whirlpool effect in the pool.

"I'm no expert, but I think it made a similar hazard that you find in a weir, the undercurrent being faster than the surface water and circling at the base of the rock.

"Can I appeal to people to please keep their children and pets away from this area as there are no signs warning of the dangers.

"With river levels rising due to the amount of rainfall, the situation can only get worse.

"I want to prevent anyone going through the same heartache that myself and my family are experiencing now," Paul said.

A spokesman for West Somerset Council urged people to take extra care near all rivers, water courses and outfalls, especially during the current wet weather.

"Our sympathies are with the family after this tragic accident and we are always willing to work with all the relevant agencies to consider potential improvements regarding safety near water," she said.

Coastguard Simon Bale said it could easily have been a child sucked under a rock rather than Buster.

"This large pool regularly has local children swimming and jumping in it, but certain conditions can create dangerous currents, eddies and stoppers, which, in this case, caused the pet dog to drown.

"We have expressed our condolences to the owners of the dog who, with several young children, have lost a valued and much-loved member of the family," Mr Bale said.

He also appealed to people not to park their cars across slipway access points as was the case on Saturday.

"During this incident we were unable to access the West Street beach slipway with our rescue vehicle and equipment.

"Luckily, on this occasion, no extra equipment was required but had it been necessary, the time it would have taken to locate the vehicle owners or have the vehicles removed could have proved costly," Mr Bale said.