Hard pressed lifeguards saved 40 stranded swimmers yesterday ? including five in the space of 20 minutes ? as high waves caused by Hurricane Helene hammered Horseshoe Bay.

And Government is warning swimmers further danger is expected with wave heights inside the reef set to double today.

Parks Officer Craig Burt, who heads the park rangers and lifeguards section, said three staff had battled to save lives over an eight-hour period starting around 10 a.m.

And he stressed it wasn?t just a case of paddling out a few feet to shout warnings.

He told Swimmers were caught in rip tides, being dragged out. They could not get back.

?It wasn?t just lifeguards swimming in waist-deep water and saying ?come out?. These were actual rescues.?

Lifeguard Alastair Jack, 22, recalled how he and his two colleagues battled to save five people in a relentless chain of events lasting 20 minutes which was capped off by applause from sunbathers.

He was on the observation tower when he spotted colleague Jay Rewalt swimming out nearly 100 metres to a diving spot called Fraggle Rock to help a woman caught in a rip current.

Then fellow lifeguard Richard Collis pulled in two more.

Mr. Jack, from Devonshire continued: ?I went in to pull out an old lady then Jay helped me with another lady.

?It was chaos ? after we got out there was a round of applause and everyone was cheering. It was quite surreal.?

A tired but happy Mr. Jack said last night: ?I feel exhausted ? like I have been in a fight.

?You get quite sore from the waves which keep hitting you. I will have a few bruises on my body.?

He said one grateful New Yorker, saved from the surf, had offered a $100 reward.

?We don?t take money ? we told him to buy something for his folks.?

Praising the professionalism of his staff, Mr. Burt said: ?The three on duty were tired out at the end of the day.

?Forty is the most rescues we have ever done in my 21 years here.?

Some of those caught out were strong swimmers, said Mr. Burt.

All 40 were visitors with most aged between 30 and 60.

None were injured although one of his lifeguards suffered a pulled muscle.

During yesterday?s crisis, two park rangers were drafted in to help patrol the landmark Southampton beach for daredevil swimmers keen to test the waves.

The eastern section of the shore, which had the most rip currents, was closed off yesterday and Parks will today assess wind direction before considering a similar strategy.

Last night Environment Minister Randy Horton said Hurricane Helene, which is passing some 400 miles to Bermuda?s east had caused dangerous surf conditions along South Shore and the conditions are likely to continue today and into tomorrow.

He said: ?Today lifeguards made 40 rescues at Horseshoe Bay, injuring one of the lifeguards in the process. In one incidence five people were rescued simultaneously.

?Therefore I am calling on the public to refrain from swimming on the beaches of South Shore Parks.

?Only strong swimmers should enter the surf. And I would also advise them to exercise extreme caution as rip currents are rapidly forming.?

Beachgoers were urged to follow the directions of lifeguards and park rangers while warning notices have been erected.

Mr. Burt said closing Horseshoe Bay would only compound the problem as people would go to beaches not manned by lifeguards.

?At present there is a shortage of lifeguard staff. We are only operating at Horseshoe. But rip currents can form at a place like Warwick Long Bay.?

Bermuda Maritime Operations Centre report seas inside the reef will double today to two to four feet.

The main danger was powerful swells, said a spokesman, with winds likely to reach up to 30 knots. He said:?The seas will become choppier.?