Tide catches out cricket players and youngsters

LIFEBOAT crews are urging people to be careful on the beach after being called to rescue two groups of people stranded by the tide at the same spot.

Portishead Lifeboat crew members were called out to help five children on a sandbank near Clevedon's Marine Lake on Saturday.

A member of the public alerted the coastguard who contacted Portishead Sailing Club, whose members were already in the channel as part of a day of activities in support of the British Olympic Sailing Team.

Clevedon Coastguard mud rescue teams were put on standby and the coastguard helicopter was also scrambled.

Two of the children, who were aged between eight and 13, made their own way back to the shore but members of the sailing club rescued the other three children before handing them over to the Portishead lifeboat crew.

Two days later a group of nine adults had to be rescued after becoming cut off by the tide while playing cricket on a sand bar about 100 metres away from the Marine Lake.

A Weston-super-Mare RNLI crew arrived at the scene 10 minutes after being called and took the cricketers to Clevedon Pier, where they were met by coastguard staff.

Weston-super-Mare RNLI spokesman Glyn Hayes said: "They had not realised the speed with which the Bristol Channel tides can rise.

"The water level was rising rapidly and they would soon have been in serious trouble."

On their way back to their Birnbeck Island base, the crew diverted to pick up three swimmers in the water at the mouth of the River Axe.

Portishead and Bristol Lifeboat Trust crews are called out dozens of times each year to similar incidents.

Trust spokesman Dave Herbert said: "With the good weather we have been having, people want to go out and enjoy the coast.

"The area is particularly busy during times like summer when children are on holiday from school.

"We are often called out, along with the other emergency services, to rescue people who run into trouble along the coastline.

"However tempting it may be for people to get into the water or walk onto the sandy areas, they need to make sure they are aware of the tides. The Severn Estuary has the second highest rise and fall of tide in the world and it is unforgiving when it comes in – it is not going to stop.

"We want people to enjoy the coastline but stay safe at the same time.

"There are safety signs along the beach and people need to make sure they read them and adhere to them."

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