A frantic fight was made to save the life of a 15 year old girl after a wall of sand on a Norfolk beach collapsed on top her.

Emergency services and up to 20 holidaymakers and locals from Caister on Sea, rushed to the scene at around 3pm this afternoon, with people using their hands and shovels to dig down six feet to rescue her.

She is believed to have been buried for up to 15 minutes and it is undersood she had stopped breathing when found, but a paramedic who ha helped dig her out saved her life by clearing her airways.

She was airlifted by an RAF Sea King helicopter to the James Paget University Hospital at Gorleston where she is recovering.

The teenager, who is believed to be on holiday with her father and family from Kent, was blue in the face and unconscious when they discovered her at approximately 3.15pm.

The girl is belived to have become trapped at 3.05pm when a 6ft hole on the beach collapsed. She was freed 20 minutes later.

Local people and holidaymakers were the first to rush to her aid, with one youngster dashing back to his home to retrieve three spades.

Paramedics were joined by the police, the fire brigade, an ambulance team, and the RAF Sea King helicopter.

Brian Edmonds, 17, who lives nearby on Beach Road, Caister, said: 'It seemed like they were digging for about 25 to 30 minutes, but they just kept going until we managed to get her out.'

Inspector Nick Cheshire of Norfolk Constabulary thanked the public for helping the emergency services, but also warned people of the dangers of playing on the beach.

He said: 'We want people to enjoy the beach, but you must be careful when playing in the sand because it has the potential to be dangerous.'

Jonathan Wilby, Norfolk Fire Service station master at Great Yarmouth, believed the communication and teamwork between the emergency services helped save the girl's life.

He said: 'The rescue was a multi-agency effort between the four services who worked together to bring the girl to safety.'

Three young children were saved from 8ft deep hole on Gorleston beach in 2004 when the sides began to cave in.

Two boys nearly died in 1997 when they became trapped in a hole on Great Yarmouth beach and had difficulty breathing.