Barrow Lifeboat Assists with Rescue in Walney Channel

The request for assistance was received from HM Coastguard in Holyhead at 7.30pm on Friday evening. The Coastguard had received reports of two people in Walney Channel who had become cut off by the incoming tide at the footbridge across to North Scale.

The crew was paged and the inshore lifeboat, Raymond and Dorothy Billingham, was launched at 7.45pm with Jonny Long at the helm and crew Fraser Livesey and Michael Armstrong. The lifeboat was on the scene within ten minutes during which time a local boat owner had launched his own boarding boat and had managed to reach the two people. The lifeboat took the casualties on board and transferred them to the team from Furness Coastguard who were positioned on the shore on the east side of the Channel. The casualties were then taken to the nearby Furness College car park where they were checked over by a waiting ambulance crew. Other local Coastguard Rescue teams had also been called to attend, and Coastguard Rescue Helicopter 936 was mobilised.

With the casualties safe, the lifeboat returned to the Boathouse at Roa Island where it arrived at 8.20pm.

The weather and visibility at the time of the incident was good. The wind was south-easterly, Force 1 – 2. The high tide was due at 10.43pm with a predicted height of 8.7 metres.

A spokesperson for Barrow Lifeboat commented: ‘We are grateful to the local boat owner for their prompt assistance with the rescue of the two people involved. The incident is a reminder for anyone visiting the coast to always be aware of the tide times and the fact that the tide may come in around you leaving you stranded.’

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