RNLI crew members came to the rescue of a walker and their dog at Black Rock Sands yesterday evening.

Criccieth RNLI were called out at 5.40pm on Friday, launching both lifeboats to rescue the walker, and his dog, who were stranded on a sandbank at the eastern end of the beach.

The lifeboats were guided towards the exact location by an onshore team from HM Coastguard.

Due to the walker’s location, it was decided that the station’s smaller inshore rescue boat would approach the casualty and the dog, whilst the larger Atlantic 85 lifeboat stood by.

Once safely aboard, both the walker and the dog were transferred ashore to the care of the awaiting HM Coastguard team.

The incident occurred along a sandbank which has been the scene of numerous rescues over the past few years. The extensive sandbank is exposed at low tide but is swiftly cut-off from the beach by a deep, swift-moving channel of water, as the tide rises.

Once the lifeboats and crew were back ashore at Criccieth, the boats and equipment were disinfected in-line with Covid-19 protocols.

Following the incident, Criccieth’s acting lifeboat operations manager, Chris Fisher stated: "As we emerge from a period of lockdown and people start accessing our coastline for leisure purposes, I would like to remind people to check local tide-times and ensure they plan their route accordingly.

"In addition, anyone finding themselves cut off by the tide should call 999 immediately, ask for HM Coastguard and await rescue - they should not attempt to swim ashore."