Woman almost drowns after she sleep walked and woke up in the sea

A woman could have drowned after she sleep-walked more than half a mile from her home – into the sea.

Marie Lord, 39, woke up with the taste of salt and grit in her mouth and realised she was soaking wet on the beach with waves crashing around her.

Disorientated and freezing, she managed to scale some rocks away from the shoreline and shout for help.

Luckily her cries were heard by a night porter at a hotel near the beach who called 999.

Marie, who had not slept walked since she was 13, was treated for the early onset of hypothermia before she returned to her home – more than half a mile away from where she was found.

She had got out of bed at around 1.30am and in her slumber managed to let herself out of the house and down to the beach in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.

She then climbed down a number of large steps before walking into the water.

She has since met up with 21-year-old Lee Searle, the night porter, to praise his quick-thinking actions, which she says saved her life.

“It’s absolutely mind blowing to think about what could have happened,” she said.

“All I remember is seeing is a flashing star and it all seemed like a dream.

“Sometimes, depending on the wind, we can hear the sea from our house.

“I remember thinking ‘gosh, it’s ever so clear tonight, it’s like I’m there’ – but obviously I was.”

Marie said: “Lee heard me when I was shouting ‘help me, help me help me’. But I just don’t know what was real and what was a dream – it’s just so bizarre.

“Lee came out and said ‘what’s the matter?’. Then he saw how confused I was and how wet I was and that’s when he called 999.

Hotel porter Lee Searle found Marie and got her into the warmth