By Andrew Brown Stand Up For Southport
People are being warned not to try and walk from Southport towards Blackpool and the Lancashire coastline after two people were rescued by rescue teams including Southport Lifeboat.
While on a clear day the coastlines of Southport and Lytham and St Annes look very close across the Ribble Estuary, with Blackpool Tower looming over the landscape, beach-goers have been warned not to attempt to walk across as the journey is extremely treacherous.
The latest rescue happened on Friday (13th September 2024) as two people tried to walk from Southport Beach towards Blackpool.
Emergency services were called out at 1.38pm as the Southport Lifeboat Quads and Inshore Lifeboat were tasked by Holyhead Coastguard to assist.
Southpoort Lifeboat Coxswain and Trustee Director Nick Porter said: “The Quads entered the beach at the old Rainford’s sandworks track, whilst the Inshore Lifeboat made its way to the launch site to provide cover on the water as the tide was about to start flooding.
“Our UAS team also flew our drone to help search from the air.
“The Quad team crossed the Penfold Channel and located the casualties on sands of the Great Bank, almost at Lytham.
“The casualties, who were in good spirits, were brought back to Rainford’s Track and handed over to HM Coastguard Southport.
“With the casualties safely off the beach, our units were all stood down and returned to station.
“We’d like to remind people that whilst at low water it looks like a flat walk to Blackpool or Lytham from Southport, it is not possible to make it across, and the walk should not be attempted.
The route of the Southport Lifeboat rescue
“Ultimately, the River Ribble channel, which is approximately 5 miles North of Southport Pier, blocks the way.
“But there are also numerous other channels, gullies, areas of soft sand and thick mud along the route that make the area treacherous, and in places quicksand.
“Also, at certain states of tide, the water can come in as fast as you can walk, or even come in around behind you if you’re on a raised area of ground.
Southport Lifeboat crew members
“The channels can mean that the tide can come around the back of you and cut you off. There are also places out there where you cannot see the shore in any direction due to the geography of the sand banks.
“Without good local knowledge we don’t advise that anyone goes on the beach north of Southport Pier.
“Our Quad team regularly trains North of Southport Pier on a landscape that changes after every tide.
“It takes years of learning for a crew member to become a Quad Leader, and command a Quad team on a rescue at Southport.”
The following videos have been produced by the Southport Lifeboat to highlight the dangers of Southport beach.
https://youtu.be/PQk0jAAZQXg?si=6_oIkitHfnS4u5k8
https://youtu.be/-eM9Q6bC0Ig?si=2cIAoXT1eHzOMMgC
It costs £60,000 to keep Southport Lifeboat functioning all year round. That is no mean task during ordinary times, let alone the extraordinary times we currently find ourselves in.
Southport Lifeboat is funded entirely through public donations, and is independent of the RNLI, which abandoned Southport many years ago.
There are other ways you can help the charity continue to save lives, including joining Lifeboat Lotto or online donations.
For more details about the emergency service, or if you would like to donate, please visit their website:
http://www.southport-lifeboat.co.uk/
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