Fresh warning after woman and dog rescued from tide

A orange RNLI hovercraft sits on the banks of the coast with the incoming tide coming towards it. One crew member is on board looking out into the sea in the darkImage source, RNLI
Image caption,

Hoylake RNLI hovercraft Hurley Spirit was called into action

  • Published

A woman and her dog had to be rescued after being cut off by a fast-flooding tide in the dark, prompting a fresh warning from coastguards.

The dog walker became stranded near Leasowe Lighthouse on the Wirral coast on Monday at about 20:20 BST.

An RNLI hovercraft from Hoylake and a lifeboat from New Brighton attended and guided the woman to a safer area of the beach before taking her and her pet on board.

Hovercraft commander Matt Pownall-Jones said tides around Wirral can flood in "very quickly" and are "especially treacherous in the dark".

He continued: "If the alarm hadn’t been raised, the casualty and her dog would have been in greater danger with the beach around them soon covered by the tide.

"With the nights drawing in and regular RNLI Lifeguard patrols ending at the end of September, we encourage everyone heading to the coast to always check the tidal conditions, weather and local safety signage".

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, external, X, external, and Instagram, external. You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk, external