Warning as trio - and dogs - rescued after becoming stranded in Strangford Lough
An RNLI lifeboat crew has rescued a group of three adults – and their two dogs – after they became stranded.
They were left cut off by the rising tide at Rough Island in Strangford Lough.
The island is tiny and uninhabited, but is connected to the mainland by a causeway, accessible only by foot.
Upon being paged over the incident Scott Blackwood and crew members James Couper, Chris Jenkins and Ollie Rogers launched the inshore lifeboat Blue Peter V.
It said: “On arrival at Rough Island one member of the volunteer lifeboat crew was put ashore and the casualties were found quickly and observed to be well.
“With weather conditions worsening, and faced with a wait of several hours before the tide would drop sufficiently for them to safely walk back across the causeway, the decision was made to get them onboard the lifeboat and take them back to the slipway close to Island Hill car park.”
Mr Blackwood said: “When the girls realised the tide was coming in they did the right thing, stayed on the island and called 999 requesting the help of the Coastguard.
“As the tide comes in and covers the causeway, it quickly disappears from sight and you can go from ankle deep to very deep water in just a few seconds.
“We live in a digital world and most of us carry a smart phone in our pocket. We would urge anyone who lives, or regularly walks, close to the shore to download a tide times app and check it, and the weather, before venturing out.”
The RNLI revealed details of the incident, which happened on Thursday, yesterday.