Southport players rescue couple from sinking sand on Crosby beach

Footballers who were training on a beach rushed to the aid of a couple after spotting them stuck in "sinking sand" nearby.

The Southport FC players were on Merseyside's Crosby beach when they noticed the man and woman were in trouble at about 20:00 BST on Monday.

The National League North club's social media manager Joe Cunliffe said they went over to help straight away.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said the couple were rescued without injury.

Mr Cunliffe said as soon as the players saw what was happening, they rushed over "to help out".

"It was a team effort, as they say," he said.

He said the Sandgrounders players, who were coming to the end of a pre-season training session, "pulled the woman out quickly, but the man... was probably waist deep".

"It took about five minutes [to get him out]," he said.

He said the rescue had been "quite relentless", with about four of the players trying to help the man.

He said he had never seen anything like it.

"You wouldn't think nearby that there's sinking sand," he said.

"It doesn't come into your mind until it actually happens.

"It was quite worrying at the time but our captain Adam [Anson] rang 999 and [the emergency services] came quite quickly."

The fire service said a crew had attended the rescue near Crosby Leisure Centre on Mariners Road.

A representative said one "affected individual was released prior to fire service attendance and the other was released by members of the public".

They added that no injuries were reported and the firefighters had "escorted the individuals back to Crosby Leisure Centre".

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