Two cousins drowned after they were swept off rocks by large waves.
An eyewitness saw the pair climb over the tall rocks, and one of them – who was naked – was swept off by waves which he said were 20 feet higher than the outcrop.
Daniel Hoare, who alerted rescuers, said the first man – Jordan O’Rourke – was screaming loudly in the water and waving his arms.
An inquest at Exeter Coroner’s Court heard that the second man, Luke Keyte-Rigby, who was wearing shorts, was also washed into the ‘choppy’ sea at Oddicombe Beach in Torquay, Devon, and both men disappeared from his view as he raised the alarm.