Flint Coastguard joins major rescue in Crosby after 5 people caught out by tides and mud

An evening beach walk quickly turned into a sticky situation for a family at Crosby on Sunday evening.

With light fading fast the family of four were stuck in the soft sand and mud. The tide was also swirling in quickly which added to an already dangerous situation.

Luckily the family knew to call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

The Crosby Coastguard Rescue Team was close by, on their way home from attending the Liverpool FC parade where they were providing safety cover. They were on the scene within just three minutes of the first call.

Flint Coastguard Station Officer who was also providing cover at the parade event was also scrambled to the scene.

A nearby member of the public had seen the four in difficulty and went to help only to become stuck themselves.

The Southport Coastguard Rescue Team, the RNLI lifeboat from New Brighton and the hovercraft from Hoylake were also quickly on their way, together with the North West Ambulance Service.

Hoylake RNLI hovercraft was requested to launch by the UK Coastguard at 9:03pm last night to reports of a family stuck in mud and cut off by the flooding tide on Crosby beach.

The search and rescue helicopter from Caernarfon was also ready to attend.

With a fast-rising tide, speed was of the essence said Senior Coastal Operations Officer Mike Buratti. “It was a very fast-moving situation and rapidly deteriorating.”

“The combination of fast-rising tides over the mudflats means that it’s very easy to get caught out.”

“It was also getting dark and the water is still chilly at this time of year so the outcome could have been very different,” he said.

The coastguard rescue team from Crosby brought two people safely back to shore using water rescue techniques.

The other three were picked up by the lifeboat and then transferred to the hovercraft so they could be brought back to the beach and passed into the care of the ambulance.

“The casualties were knee-deep in water when we got to them but the quick intervention of all the rescue teams working together meant that we were able to get them to safety. So thankfully it was a good outcome,” he added.

A spokesperson for Flint Coastguard said: “Yesterday our Station Officer was selected to be part of a virtual team to be based at Pier Head in Liverpool and provide safety cover during the LFC homecoming parade.”

“This team was made up of 1 officer from each Flint, Rhyl, Wirral, Crosby and Southport CRT’s.”

“At the event itself, we were not required to assist or deal with any incident.”

“However on the way back to Crosby’s station, we were diverted for an immediate tasking.”

“This resulted in 5 lives being saved.”

Duty Commander Piers Stanbury said, “They did exactly the right thing by dialling 999 for the coastguard.”

“Her quick thinking meant we were able to get rescue teams out to them really quickly and everyone was brought back to shore within the hour.”

“If you do become stuck in the mud our advice is to stay calm, try and spread your weight as much as possible and call 999 for the coastguard. Before you set out, make sure you have a way of calling for help and remember to check the local tide times”

[Image credit: Another Place Sculpture by Antony Gormley, Crosby Beach by Tim Hill, Pixabay]