Lytham St Annes RNLI search for missing 11-year-old girl off North Beach

The lifeboat crew were paged at 1pm to help search for the girl as no sighting had been seen of her and there was a risk she could have gone into the sea and got into difficulty.

The inshore lifeboat (ILB) was taken behind the Ineos launch vehicle from her boathouse at Central Beach, to gain access to the sands from the All-weather Lifeboat (ALB) House slipway on South Promenade, as this was the nearest and quickest point to reach the girl’s last known position.

With Helm Rob Ansell in command, the ILB carried out an extensive search along the shore line, looking for the girl. The search included Lytham St Annes Coastguard, Fylde Beach Rangers, Police and the use of a Police drone. Thankfully the girl was eventually found safe and well on shore and reunited with her family.

The ILB was brought back to the ALB House to be washed off with the launch vehicles, before being returned to her own boathouse to be refuelled, checked over and made ready for the next call out.

Lifeboat Operations Manager (LOM) Paul Little said:

‘Unfortunately a busy beach in hot weather brings a risk of children going missing and a cool sea is tempting for them.

‘With crowds on the beach they can soon be lost in the vast number of people about. Her parents did the right thing by contacting HM Coastguard, who in turn contacted us to assist with the search.

‘Our highly trained volunteers are ready to go out to help others at any time, day or night thanks to the generous donations from the public to help save lives at sea.’

RNLI Media Contacts

RNLI media contacts

For more information please contact David Forshaw, Lytham St Annes volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer on 07904 685 206 or [email protected].

Sean Delaney, Lytham St Annes volunteer Social Media Officer on [email protected].

Claire Fitzpatrick-Smith, RNLI Regional Communications Manager on 07977 728315 or [email protected].

RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789.

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,700 lives.

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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

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