Police issue warning after women rescued from water near lighthouse

Police have issued a warning after two women got into difficulty in the water near Leasowe Lighthouse today. Emergency services attended after receiving a report of two women in their 40s struggling in the water off Moreton Beach, having been cut off by the incoming tide shortly after 8am on Saturday (August 17).

As the coastguard team arrived, a Merseyside Police officer and passing member of the public entered the water and started swimming towards one of the casualties who was drifting quickly on the incoming tide. The pair reached one of the people in the water and began to swim ashore with her.

A coastguard rescue officer then used a throw bag to successfully get a line to the police officer and, with the assistance of other officers now on the scene, was able to pull those in the water to shore. A spokesperson for the coastguard said: "Coastguard and the police then administered casualty care until the arrival of North West Ambulance Service paramedics."

The other woman had managed to self-rescue and was also assessed by coastguard officers and paramedics. Both casualties were taken to hospital for further assessment.

Warning the public to be cautious, Wallasey response policing inspector Andy Murphy said: “Thankfully in this instance both women were rescued and brought to safety. Please be aware of the tide times when venturing on the beaches.

"The Wirral waters have the second biggest tidal range in the UK. Water floods at a fast pace rising up to an inch a minute causing people to become easily trapped by the flooding tide.”