Woman rescued from rocks as Morecambe Bay tide rushed in around her

The Bay Search & Rescue crew was called by Holyhead Maritime and Coastguard Agency on Thursday evening to help in the search for a missing medically vulnerable woman.

With a 9m tide running in quickly, which restricted the access to a large number of potential search areas, BSAR's sherp vehicle was deployed to search the immediate areas around Blackstone Point, White Creek, Park Point and then onward towards Silverdale . Conditions were extremely cold, well below zero, so much so that the sherp encountered significant surface ice floating on the water as it used its amphibious capabilities to reach to search these areas.

BSAR's thermal drone was prepared ready for deployment just as word came in that the casualty had been found on rocks on the shore in a poor condition.

Medical attention was given by both the BSAR crew and Coastguard from Arnside & South Lakes Coastguard Rescue Team and due to location and the increasing tide, the decision to again request that the sherp enter the water and meet with the crew on the shore for a safe and effective evacuation was requested.

This was one of the few occasions when the tide helped speed up the evacuation as it was still running into the bay quite quickly and sped up the sherp's arrival, with the crew skilfully using the water flow to their advantage.

Casualty on board, monitoring attached and observations being taken, they were then gently transported over the icy rocks in the comfort of the sherp and along the shore line to await the arrival of a North West Ambulance Service paramedic crew.

A BSAR spokesman said: "We wish the casualty a speedy recovery. This was a superb example of highly trained community volunteers from BSAR working with the emergency services."