Stranded dog walkers rescued by Redcar RNLI

A man and two women were walking a pair of dogs on the beach just before half past eleven in the morning when they found themselves marooned on a sand bar near Cliff House at Marske, near Redcar.

They telephoned the UK Coastguard to raise the alarm and two RNLI lifeboats from Redcar together with coastguard rescue teams from Redcar and Staithes were sent to the scene.

Dave Cocks, Lifeboat Operations Manager at Redcar RNLI, said: ‘The UK Coastguard contacted us just before 11.30am and requested our lifeboats proceed to Marske where three people and two dogs had become cut off by the incoming tide.

‘When the lifeboats arrived the crews found the people up to their knees in the rapidly rising tide.

‘Two volunteer crew members were sent ashore to reassured the stranded people and to see if there was a safe route to walk them back to safety, but the water was waist-deep at points.

The crew then used one of the lifeboats to ferry the walkers and their pets, a collie-type dog and a spaniel, back to the beach at Marske where they were put into the care of the UK Coastguard team.

‘It’s very unusual for people to be cut off by the tide at that particular point, in fact I can’t recall a similar incident.’

Dave Cocks added: ‘The group did exactly the right thing by raising the alarm and then staying put. The tide was rising rapidly and there was quite a fast-flowing current between them and the beach. They told our crew that they always check the tide times before setting out but they found themselves trapped on a sand bar which they’d never seen at Marske before.’

The incident happened over three hours before high tide and on the day of a so-called super moon, when the moon is closer to the earth than at any other time.

The moon plays a significant part in controlling the behaviour of the tides.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Attached are images of the rescue of three dog walkers and two dogs. Credit RNLI/Redcar

Redcar lifeboat station has been operating since 1802

Redcar currently operates a B-class lifeboat named Leicester Challenge III, paid for by the people of Leicester, and an IB1-class lifeboat named Eileen May Loach-Thomas, paid from the legacy of the late Nicolas Thomas of Shropshire

For more news, information and images go to www.redcarlifeboat.org.uk

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RNLI media contacts:

For more information please contact Dave Cocks, RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager on 07894 558 483, Alison Levett, RNLI PR Manager, North, on 01642 754828 or 07786 668912 or at [email protected]. Alternatively, contact Clare Hopps, RNLI Press Officer, North on 01642 754811 or 07824 518641 or at [email protected], or contact RNLI Public Relations on 01202 336789; [email protected]

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