By Teenagers rescued from Haile Sand Fort after tide rises leaving them stranded
RNLI Cleethorpes were called to rescue three local 16-year-olds who attempted to swim to Haile Sand Fort and became stranded.
On Monday (14 June), the teenagers decided to walk out to the fort, having to swim for the last part of the journey due to the rising tide levels.
Once they made it to the fort, they soon realised they “weren’t confident” to make it safely back to shore, and had to call 999 for the Coastguard to rescue them.
According to RNLI, the trio were all “a little cold” and had acquired “a few cuts and scrapes” when they climbed up the fort as the tide levels continued to rise.
The RNLI said: “Haile Sand Fort is private property, and is inaccessible at low tide. This area is prone to interlocking sandbars that create deep channels and fast flowing water.
“They may look safe at low tide but the sea floods back in very quickly, cutting sightseers off from land.
“You won’t outswim the powerful currents and will end up in serious danger. Don’t risk it!”
Haile Sand Fort is one of the two Humber Forts that were planned in 1914 at the start of the First World War to protect the entrance to the Humber Estuary.
It stands 59 feet above the water and took four years to build, with construction not being completed until December 1919 – a year after the war had ended.
When the Second World War started in 1939, the two forts were reactivated and modernised, and regularly attacked by enemy aircraft.
During this time, they installed underwater netting to prevent enemy submarines from travelling up the Estuary to access Hull or Grimsby.
The forts were eventually abandoned by the military in 1956.
In 2018, Haile Sands Fort sold for £117,000 to an unknown buyer.
Contact Gi Grimsby
Email us: news@gi-media.co.uk
Follows us on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest local stories, breaking news and to join the conversation
Contact Gi Lifestyle
Email us: news@gi-media.co.uk
