Lying on the sand in the pouring rain, with a fractured back and as the tide came in, horse rider Kerri Harris feared the worst.

Her dream of a horse ride on Polurrian beach the day before 40th birthday had ended with her falling and fracturing two bones in her back, plus one near her shoulder.

"It was pretty dire," remembered Kerri.

Thankfully two Australian GPs on holiday in the area also happened to be on the beach and they came to her aid, calling 999 and the help of Mullion Coastguard Rescue Team.

Four months on and Kerri was back to visit the coastguards, to say thank you in person for what they did.

She said: "I had heard of the coastguards, but I think until you are actually in that position and you need help, you don't realise how wonderful they actually are. What they do is pretty amazing, considering they're all volunteers. They're all doing other jobs and have families, and they just drop everything to save people.

"I've never met a bunch of people so dedicated to helping other people that they don't know."

Kerri, who grew up for a while in Helston and now lives in Threemilestone, had been on a short break with her family at the nearby Sea Acres Holiday Park at Kennack Sands and decided to go riding on the beach as another thing to cross off her list of "things to do before 40."

After she had fallen she lay on the beach for two hours as she waited for help and for the emergency services to then decide how to move her. Both emergency helicopters were already out on shouts and with the tide fast approaching, the decision was taken to carry her up the beach, despite the injuries to her back.

"It was an awful day, pouring with rain - it was horrendous. To think they all picked me up and carried me across that beach - there was a lot of effort and man power to get me off that beach that day.

"I've never met such wonderful people in my life."

Kerri said she could not remember a lot of what happened after she fell, but was conscious of hearing the coastguards' voices.

"I was in quite a lot of pain, I just remember their voices. Going to see them was really nice to put faces to the voices," she said.

She also spoke of her gratitude on Facebook, telling the coastguards: "You give up your precious family time, your life, to come out and save people like me on a daily basis and I personally want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.

"My family and I are so very thankful that on that day the coastguard were there to not only comfort me, protect me but get me to the ambulance so I could get the help I needed to heal and get home to my husband and my beautiful son.

"You guys are truly amazing and there’s not enough words to express my wholehearted appreciation for all that you did that day."

A spokesperson for Mullion Coastguard said: "It was so lovely to meet Kerry and her family in better circumstances and to see how well she's doing."