Three swimmers had to be rescued after getting into trouble in the relentless waves
Two swimmers had to be air-lifted to safety(Image: Kevin Hughes)
Two swimmers had to be rescued after getting into trouble while trying to help a woman in Leasowe Bay. Julie Clark, 69, from Wirral, was out with her local swimming club when she noticed another woman drifting out to sea and tried to follow her.
She soon found herself clinging to the rocks as the powerful waves overwhelmed her. She said: “I was celebrating my 50th dip with four others from my local club, so it was just for some fun really.
“It sounds stupid after what happened, but we’re quite sensible and we keep to the left of ‘Jack’, a big pipe on the far side of the beach. We don’t go out of our depth; but I’ll admit that I do love jumping the waves – it’s what makes things different and fun.”
The group usually stayed away from the mouth of the bay, where they’d been warned of potentially dangerous currents. But that day Julie noticed one of her fellow dippers swimming past Jack, into deeper water, and attempted to follow her, alongside another swimmer.
She said: “I called out to her with my colleague warning about going past the post. Looking back, I think she might have already been in difficulty, and I couldn’t see a float, which was very worrying.
HM Coastguard helicopter at Leasowe Bay(Image: Kevin Hughes)
“We just wanted to help I think. I didn’t even realise that we were now drifting out too and only realised this when my feet hit some rocks.
“I felt helpless, as I recognised the danger and the limits of my own abilities, and a horrid realisation crept in – before me a person was drowning. It was totally horrible, and she was in such great difficulties.
“Her hands were up and the waves were crashing over her. In my mind, I’d turned my back on someone who was drowning and I’m still finding that very hard to deal with.”
Julie attempted to swim to the shore while battling the strong current when she saw a man standing on the cliff pointing and shaking his hands.
She said: “I put my hands up and pointed to the other swimmers. I gestured that I was trying to move and swim. I had my float and held onto it, but I was so, so tired.
“I remember thinking that I was going to drown, and I decided to try to reach the rocks. At that stage, I didn’t know that the Coastguard was coming. I was taken closer; there were lots of waves and it was quite frightening.”
Julie clung to the rocks for dear life as she was battered and bruised by the unforgiving waves. An off-duty doctor, who noticed her struggling, shouted to her from the shore as they waited for Coastguards to arrive.
Julie said: “She kept telling me to look and focus on her, and I was doing it, but I couldn’t hold on any longer.”
The rescue team then arrived and carried out a rapid “snatch rescue”, with one team member, Calvin Pickess, entering the water attached to a safety line.
Coastguards then arrived, including water rescue team-members Calvin Pickess, Hugo Chandor, and Officer in Charge Paul Ambrose.
Paul said: “The swimmers were battling a ‘washing machine’ effect; being struck against the rocks repeatedly. I shouted to them as they held onto their floats, but I could see they were exhausted.”
“I knew that with the waves, rocks and period in the water, we only had a small pocket of time to do a water rescue. Our officers could get in there to shield the casualties and stabilise the situation before other assets could get on scene.”
Julie was rescued first and pulled out of the water by Calvin, while another rescue team member, Hugh Chandor, helped the other two swimmers.
Paul said: “It was obviously time critical, so Hugo entered the water for the other two casualties. He put his feet against the rocks and then kept hold of them, taking the full impact of the waves behind him.”
Two swimmers had to be air-lifted to safety(Image: Kevin Hughes)
RNLI New Brighton lifeboat arrived, but was unable to get near due to the poor conditions. They sent one crew person ashore to assist.
Julie was assessed in a waiting Coastguard vehicle, while rescue teams used a basket stretcher to get the other two swimmers out the water and onto the rocks.
A Coastguard Rescue Helicopter arrived and winched both women off the rocks and onto the beach, where they were assessed by paramedics and taken to Arrowe Park Hospital. Both casualties are making a steady recovery, HM Coastguard said.
Paul said: “The swimmer from the group who got out of the water to call for help was crucial. Had they swum out to assist, that 999 call might not have happened so quickly. It could have been a very different outcome. Seeing the casualties home safe for Christmas, it’s amazing.”
If you’re in trouble at sea or on the coast, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.