Surfing Waves

Great surf at Putsborough over the weekend but got caught in a rip on friday which was a bit of a scare as i've never experienced one of these before. I know about the permanent rip near the point but this one was about 500m distance from there. I was wondering if rips are common along this beach and what conditions (i.e. state of the tide/wave size) are they most likely to occur?

I do not know your beach, but rip currents typically form when there is a break in the sand bar, or along jetties headlands etc. All that water coming in must return to sea somewhere. Swell direction plays a big role in where the rips will form. A couple things to keep in mind when dealing with rip currents are to remain calm, and paddle parallel to shore to escape out of it. You never want to be so exhausted from paddling that you can not hold your breath for a few seconds when a wave breaks on you or in front of you. Here is a link to some great info and facts on rip currents:
http://www.ripcurrents.noaa.gov/overview.shtml

Kasabian, a really useful tool you could look at learning, is how to read your beach, what Tonyg suggested is absolutely right and the link is great, so where do you go from here?
Putborough/Woolcombe isa long sand beach with a stream entering at the Woolacombe end but the beach is long enough to have a rip at each end by the headlands and to develop a number of migratory rips along the beach itself. These will be determined by swell size and direction and wind sometime too.
Look at the indications for rips in that link apply them to the picture you see from the headland and they begin to become obvious.
Get into the habit of going where you can overlook a beach especially if you don't know it well and just see what the conditions are.
That will tell you how to approach the surf on that day.
Unless you know a beach really well sitting and watching will enhance your session and make it safer as well

You have no idea how many people have to be rescued by lifeguards and surfers because they swim where the waves are not and that is usually the beach side mouth of the rip
If you are caught in a rip paddle parallel to the shore and allow the waves to wash you in, the wave are usually on either side of the rip.

Reading the beach is your way of knowing the local traffic rules.

Putts has rips, but no more than average.
There will often be a rip running out to the point by the rocks, but there will also often be one in the middle somewhere too. A trick that you can use at Putts is to stand in the car park above the beach, and you can see where the rips are. You're looking for either a section that appears ruffled where the rest of the water is smooth (on small and/or clean days), or a section where the waves don't tend to break and kind of crumble into nothingness (on bigger or messier days).
Either of these will mark where a rip is so take note before you go in the water - but remember that the position of the rips will change as the tide or conditions change.

Rips are when water comes though a break in the sand bank and all rushes through that break on its way out in a gush of water, dragging you out to sea, sometimes without you barely noticing when waiting for a wave. Putsborough isn't too bad for rips, but they can occaisonally happen, there aren't any lifeguards in putsborough, so your better of going down the beach to woolacombe, lifeguards and I've only ever heard of a friend being pulled out once at wooly. Waves vary at Wolly, probably not as good as Puts. but safer. If you are looking for a good surfing beach in North Devon Croyde is your best bet, an hour's drive from Wooly.