THE widow of a man who drowned in rough seas off Sandbanks has paid tribute to “a great father.”

Jayarajah Katheeswaran, from Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, was pulled from the water by lifeguards after getting into difficulty outside the safe-swim zone on August 20.

The 37-year-old Sri Lankan was visiting the popular tourist spot as part of the Islamic and Cultural Society of Harrow’s annual excursion.

His wife of eight years Vythekey Katheeswaran said: “It is like a dream now. He was a great father. I am so proud of him. He worked as a computer repair service and was the only one in Borehamwood. Everyone knew him. He did everything to help everyone.”

The father-of two, whose younger child is less than two months old, left Harrow with a group of other travellers on the morning of August 20 for a day at the beach.

Mrs Katheeswaran said: “I was not there when it happened because my son was too young to go with them. He went with a group of friends. More than 100 people were on the trip.

Another member of the coach trip, Ajan Ariyaratnam, said people on the beach saw a man struggling in the water.

He said: “My cousin and his children went into the water and they came back immediately because of the high waves. When he came back he warned everyone not to go there because of these high waves.

“A few minutes later three of our friends went into the water. One of them went further. Suddenly my sister saw that he was drowning, so she shouted ‘help, help’.

“Every one of us ran towards the sea to try to help him, and two of the friends ran to get the lifeguard. When the lifeguard pulled him out of the sea, he gave him first aid and CPR, but could not help.”

An inquest and post mortem into Mr Katheeswaran’s death found he had died as a result of drowning.

Now Mrs Katheeswaran is urging people to educate themselves about rip currents and waves.

She said: “They are very dangerous. My husband was a strong swimmer but this was too tough for him.”

Mr Katheeswaran’s funeral was held on August 28 and more than 200 people attended.

The inquest has been adjourned until November 26.