The desperate scene was taken at Porthleven in Cornwall by Tom Skinner, a first-year student on the BA(Hons) Press Photography course at University College Falmouth, in Cornwall.

Several students from the new course were out last week on assignment and later, during an edit of the pictures late on Tuesday, it was this image that caught the attention of course leader, Mal Stone.

Tom

He called the Western Morning News which then led with Tom's picture on the front page of Wednesday's edition.

The photograph has since been picked up by the Rex Features picture agency and syndicated worldwide.

This is the first year of BA(Hons) Press Photography at Falmouth and the course and its students have already caught the attention of both publishers and industry professionals.

Magnum, the photographic agency, has selected the course for its educational partnership programme and even though they haven't yet completed their first year, many of the student photographers have already seen their work printed in local and regional magazines and new commissions are coming in all the time.

Mal said: "We want to make sure that students on this course get something special; a head-start in a challenging industry, with the very best resources, contacts and experience at their fingertips. That, and actually getting out there and shooting great pictures, is the best way of preparing them for the future."

The couple in the photo managed to catch hold of some railings at the very last minute and were brought to safety by local coastguards.

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