'I thought I was going to drown,' says mum who 'managed one final scream' in surfing accident

DESPERATE CRY FOR HELP BROUGHT FRIEND RUSHING TO SURFER’S AID AFTER TERRIFYING ORDEAL IN SEA

- By NEIL SHAW

A WOMAN says she thought she wasn’t going to survive after being injured in a terrifying surfing accident.

Anouska Cassells has talked about the near-death ordeal that almost saw her drown.

“The ocean turned on me in an instant,’ said the 41-year-old parenting coach, from Derbyshire. “One moment I was surfing, the next I was ripped away from the shore, caught in a deadly rip current with an undertow. At first, I clung to my surfboard.

“It felt like my lifeline - my best friend out there. And truthfully, I thought about the cost too. I didn’t want to let it go. But soon, the board became my enemy.

“Waves smashed it against me, the leash yanked me under, and my wetsuit filled with water like an anchor pulling me into the deep. I made the desperate choice to dive under and unclip the ankle strap.

“That's when the ocean truly showed its power.”