Holy Island, Lindisfarne, Northumberland, UK. 3rd May, 2016. Fire Rescue officers wade ashore though ankle deep water after a panicked motorist, attempting to cross before low tide cleared the Holy Island Causeway, caused a high scale alert involving five emergency services Credit: Neil McAllister/Alamy Live News
Holy Island, Lindisfarne, Northumberland, 3rd, May, 2016. Emergency Services were scrambled today, when a tourist, ignoring tide tables became stranded on the causeway. The first official safe time to cross was , but the hapless motorist in a Canute-like attempt to control the tides started her drive from Lindisfarne an hour and a half before this time. When she found her Ford S-Max car rapidly turning into a boat, she found safety on a raised refuge, but instead of waiting a short while for the tide to recede, tried to turn round, only to get into difficulties. What could have been a minor embarrassment turned into a huge operation, when she dialled 999, scrambling the RNLI, Coastguard, Police and four Fire Brigade vehicles, including a rescue vehicle. As Firemen used a pole to test the depth of the water, (which proved to be below the top of their wellingtons), the newly privatised Air Sea Rescue helicopter, scrambled from Hull, circled overhead, before returning to base. An Island resident, more annoyed than amused at the huge operation commented ‘It is overkill, all this expense for an idiot who thinks that tide tables don’t apply to them. Only a month ago, a visitor asked villagers if it was safe to cross, and was told to wait an hour or so, but they ignored the advice and the crossing times which are posted at both ends of the causeway. A couple of hours later they were wrapped in blankets, shivering and their car was write off. An hour after the emergency services were summoned, the sheepish driver and her passengers drove along the now dry causeway, onto the mainland, past a line of emergency vehicles parked beside two large notices showing crossing times.
Size: 5316px × 3030px
Location: Holy Island causeway, Lindisfarne, Northumberland, England, UK
Photo credit: © Neil McAllister / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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