Two people and two dogs cut off by a fast-flooding tide

What happened. On a day in September 2025, West Kirby RNLI volunteers were paged at 12.15pm. Two people and their two dogs had been cut off by the fast-flooding tide between Little Eye and Middle Eye. They were stranded on rocks surrounded by water and had phoned HM Coastguard, which asked for the lifeboat to launch. The D class lifeboat launched within ten minutes, in strong winds, and found the pair standing in water up to their shins. The crew took them and their dogs on board and brought them to Sandy Lane slipway, where shore crew and the Wirral Coastguard Rescue Team met them. The lifeboat was ready for service again by 1.15pm.

The station’s lifeboat operations manager said the tide that day was just under 9.5 metres. The pair had checked the tide times but misunderstood them. He also said that had they tried to move, even slightly, they could easily have entered fast-flowing deep water.

The lesson for walkers. Checking a tide time is not the same as working out when it is safe to be back. The tide fills the channels around the islands quickly, and ground that is only shin-deep can be next to deep, fast-flowing water. Use the calculated window and the leave-by time, follow the Dee Lane noticeboard, and allow extra time for the walk back. If you are cut off, stay put on the highest ground you can reach, do not try to cross, and call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard.

More on the guidance.

• Safety guide: the route, what to carry and what to do if you are cut off.
• How the crossing window is calculated: the rule, the data and its limits.
• Today’s calculated window: an estimate, not permission to cross.