Alcohol fuelled stunts condemned by coastguards

Coastguards are pleading with ‘youngsters’ not to engage in pranks for social media involving swimming and alcohol. This comes after a girl and boy were recovered from the water at Alfred Dock, Seacombe.

Seemingly, in footage destined for social media, a female non-swimmer had gone into the water with a bottle of alcohol. A male intended to swim out to her, drink the bottle’s contents, and then attempt to rescue her.

However, the teenagers soon got into difficulties. The cast increased substantially with New Brighton and Crosby Coastguard Rescue Teams and the New Brighton RNLI Inshore Lifeboat, Mersey Fire and Rescue, Mersey Police and the North West Ambulance Service attending the scene. The male self-recovered, and police threw a line to the female and recovered her from the water.

“For a few seconds on social media, these young people were willing to risk losing their lives. Every year, the coastguard deals with fatal incidents, where alcohol is a causal factor. Please don’t drink and drown,” says Ben Hambling for HM Coastguard.