THE girlfriend of a man who lost his life in a surfing accident is to train as a lifeguard in a bid to highlight to others the dangers of the sea. Naomi Fox

THE girlfriend of a man who lost his life in a surfing accident is to train as a lifeguard in a bid to highlight to others the dangers of the sea.Naomi Fox, aged 30, from Congresbury, is to return to waters of the North Devon coast, which claimed the life of her boyfriend Trevor Harvey, to train as a lifesaver.Keen surfer Trevor, a builder and landscaper, died after running into difficulties while surfing at Croyde with Naomi last October.Despite valiant efforts to save him by lifeguards and fellow surfers, the 33-year-old, also from Congresbury, fell into a coma and died three weeks later.The tragedy has spurred Naomi, also a keen surfer, into training as a National Aquatic Rescue Standard Beach Lifeguard.She will be returning to Croyde this summer to start her course - with the lifeguard who tried desperately to revive Trevor as her mentor.Naomi, a garden designer, said: "Trevor and I used to enjoy surfing, but neither of us had any real idea of the dangers of the sea."What happened made me realise how helpless and ignorant we were about the hazards the sea poses."Seeing how the lifeguards worked so hard to save Trevor made me think and it inspired me to do something which would educate others about sea safety."Naomi, a former Churchill Community School pupil, says she wants to use her training to educate others and perhaps give talks at local schools to youngsters planning to go surfing.She added: "The safety advice is there if you make an effort to go and find it, but it is not staring you in the face."By preparing people and warning them of the dangers they could face from the sea, it may help prevent another unnecessary death."I am sure Trevor would be pleased that something positive has come out of this terrible tragedy."Naomi is now busy preparing for her course by training at Cadbury House. The leisure club gave her a year's free membership after hearing about Trevor's death and her drive to become a lifeguard.