Dewsbury brothers cut off by Lancashire sea tide drowned, inquest hears

Muhammad Azhar Shabbir, left, and his brother Ali Athar Shabbir got into difficulty in the sea

Two brothers who died while on a trip to the Lancashire coast had drowned, a coroner's court has heard.

Muhammad Azhar Shabbir, 18, and Ali Athar Shabbir, 16, got into difficulties after they were cut off by the tide at St Annes on Saturday.

Alan Wilson the senior coroner for Blackpool and Fylde opened and adjourned an inquest into the deaths of the brothers, from West Yorkshire.

Routine tests will take place before a full inquest on 16 December.

The coroner's office said: "The provisional causes of death is drowning although this is subject to the results of routine toxicology analysis."

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Their 15-year-old cousin was with the brothers, who were from Dewsbury, and he managed to swim ashore but they were found dead on Sunday.

They had both studied at Upper Batley High School, with Ali due to pick up his GCSEs on Thursday and expected to get good results.

Southport Offshore Rescue Trust said the youngsters had been cut off by the tide

The family were on a day trip when the three boys went into the water and got into difficulty.

The coastguard, RNLI and police called at about 18:40 BST and searches continued during the night and into the next day, using a drone and helicopter.

However, their bodies were found about a mile away from St Annes Pier on Sunday afternoon.

The brother's cousin, who has not been named, has been treated for hypothermia in hospital.

The family were one of many who had gone to the coast to enjoy the warm weather

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