Two former Cougars stars have been hailed as heroes for saving the lives of schoolchildren when a holiday to paradise ended in tragedy.

Mick Hawksworth, 44, (pictured) of Silsden, told how he, his wife and their friends acted without thinking to rescue drowning children in the Bahamas, but watched in horror as two could not be saved.

Mick -- a partner at Regal Interiors, in Keighley -- was holidaying with his wife Allison and friends Ian and Tracey Fairhurst, of Drighlington, when they stumbled across a group of about 20 children struggling in the water.

The group of friends -- who met when Michael and Ian both played for the Cougars in the 1980s -- arrived at Grand Bahama earlier this month.

Two days after arriving they decided to take a tour of the islands.

Mick said: "We went for a week to celebrate Allison's birthday, and just before it happened we were strolling along the beaches saying we were in paradise. It was unbelievable how quickly it turned into hell.

"We wanted to see as much as possible, and on the Monday we went with a guide on a boat to see the islands -- the trip was nearly cancelled as it was just us four."

Mick said how lucky it was that the trip went ahead because while they were lunching at a secluded quay, away from civilisation, they heard children screaming and shouting.

He said: "At first we just thought they were playing, but our guide went around the corner and saw that the inlet between the island we were on and another island opposite was full of children in trouble."

He added: "We went around the corner to see what was going on.

"Our guide was just pulling children out of the water and had about 12 or 13 in the boat.

"Basically, the rest of the children were being swept under and down to the sea because the current was so strong."

Mick and Ian waded in to try to help the children -- who were aged about ten and on a school trip from Martin Town Primary School 60 miles away.

"The water wasn't very deep but it was about 50 or 60 feet across between the two islands.

"It looked so serene but, although I am a strong swimmer, I was surprised by how strong the current was. The children were all in real difficulty and in danger," said Mick.

He added: "Our wives were on the shore helping children as we brought them in. Ian's wife Tracey is a nurse so she was able to help the children as they were brought in.

"Allison and Tracey helped wave another boat in to help.

"Someone from the boat that had just arrived pulled in one of the girls who was in a really bad way.

"Heart massage and mouth to mouth didn't work and she was one of two children to die. It was so sad. Horrific.

"Another child was semi-conscious, so Allison and Tracey went with the boat to the shore and on to meet the ambulance to rush to the hospital."

Police have since said that it is likely that some of the children were paddling and got swept away by the strong currents, and that others may have gone in to help them and in turn got into difficulty.

The British couples were commended for their brave actions by the Education Minister and the Tourism Minister.

Bahamas Education Minister Iris Pinder said the Government would now review school trip regulations.

It has since been revealed that the 40 pupils on the trip were supervised by five adults. It has been reported in the Bahamas media that most schools have a ratio of one supervising adult to three to five students.

Mick said: "Apparently there were teachers there the whole time but I can't remember seeing anybody -- it just all happened so fast and was such an out of control situation.

"We had never been to the Bahamas before, the place was beautiful and we tried to enjoy the rest of our holiday.

"We just kept thinking that although two children had died we had helped save a lot more."

According to reports in the Bahamas media, Betty Ewing, mother of 11-year-old Indira Ewing who died, is planning to sue.

There has been no news as yet on the decision of the parents of the other dead child, Giovannie Ferguson.