Major four hour Blackpool Coastguard and RNLI search after three flares fired
“The tide was in by this point but then a third flare was spotted.”
Flares fired over the sea off Blackpool alerted a multi-agency search during the night.
HM Coastguard received the call just after midnight that a flare - used to get attention when a sea vessel is in distress - had been seen off Starr Gate.
Officers headed along the promenade to try and get a sighting of a boat in difficulty whilst others conducted a search from the beach.
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Blackpool RNLI launched and two other lifeboats were drafted in from Lytham St Annes RNLI to search the water.
A coastguard spokesperson said: “A little after arrival, Coastguard Rescue Officers at Starr Gate, as well as lifeboat crew members, saw a second flare.
“Working with Holyhead, our Rescue Coordination Centre, estimated bearings and locations were established to better understand where the flare may have been coming from.
“With this information, it was believed the flares were coming from further south so CROs headed down to Lytham and the Granny's Bay area to get a different vantage point.”
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Southport coastguards were also in hand keeping an eye out for activity from their location or signs of anything happening on the shoreline.
The tide was in by this point but then a third flare was spotted.
“One of our rescue helicopters as well as a fixed wing rescue plane were brought in to assist with the search, to cover an even larger area.”
At around 4am, after extensive searching from three lifeboats, two aircrafts and two Coastguard Rescue Teams, it was decided the flares were not a sign of someone in distress in the water and the search stood down.