THIS is the terrifying moment a woman was nearly swept out to sea as she tried to take the perfect selfie.
Heart-in-mouth footage recorded by a local shows the woman at the edge of a sea wall in Paignton, Devon as waves unleashed by Storm Ingrid crash just below her.
The teenager is then seen letting out a shriek when she is partially submerged by the sea.
Instead of cutting her losses, the teenager stubbornly creeps towards the edge for the second time to secure the perfect snap.
She then removes her coat and braves the water on a third occasion before being knocked off balance by a fierce wave.
The woman finally accepts defeat and moves away from the seafront.
Her perilous behaviour sparked calls to educate young people on the dangers of the sea.
Jenny Brennand said: “These kids have obviously never been taught about the force of nature.
“The force of water is unforgiving and they would expect others to risk their lives if they had been pulled in and out to sea.”
Other viewers pointed to a number of fatal tragedies where people were swept out to sea.
Kaz Faiers said: “I lost a very good friend in Paignton to the sea back in the 70’s. Just watch from a safe distance, don’t risk your life.”
Roger Simonite weighed in: “50 years ago I lost a school friend, who got washed over Paignton harbour wall into the raging sea, his life was snatched away, nature needs to be respected.”
It comes after two men who were minutes away from being “completely submerged” were rescued after being stranded at sea.
Specialist Marine Unit officers were scrambled to the Thames Estuary in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, on Wednesday morning after two men got into difficulty in the water.
Cops rescued both men, one in his 20s and the other in his 30s, from the sea after a helicopter and a police vessel rushed to respond.
The men had walked out onto the sand banks from the nearby beach before becoming trapped by the fast rising tide, cops said.
In a dramatic scene, both men were then left stranded in the middle of the sea amid rapidly rising water.
Elsewhere, a body was found in the hunt for a 15-year-old girl after her mum and a hero passer-by tragically died trying to save her when she was swept out to sea.
Grace Keeling disappeared in the water near Withernsea – off the East Yorkshire coast – on January 2 with her mum Sarah, 45.
Hero passer-by Mark Ratcliffe, 67, was also killed in the horror as he bravely tried to pull the pair to safety.
Humberside Police today confirmed they are in the process of attempting to retrieve a body from among the rocks.
The discovery was made on Thursday morning but tide times and conditions have meant recovery “could not be immediately carried out”.
Officers are now working with specialist teams to “delicately recover the body”, the force said.
