A warning has been issued to anyone walking through woodland and dunes around the Southport coastline after a man vanished in Formby pinewoods after dark.
The coastguard were called by police to help in a search for a male who went missing after venturing into woodland near Formby.
The man had become separated from his worried partner and had no phone operational to call for help, eventually becoming lost in the darkness for over two and a half hours.
Luckily he was found safe by officers from Merseyside Police and returned to his panicked partner safe and well before all emergency services were stood down.
A spokesperson for the Crosby Coastguard Station said “our team were tasked by CGOC (Coastguard Operations Centre) along with our colleagues from HM Coastguard Southport to assist Merseyside Police with a search for a missing male in the woods close to Formby beach.
The male had been lost for some two and a half hours.
Upon arriving at the location of incident further information was received that the male had been found by Merseyside Police.
Coastguard rescue teams stayed on location until both the missing person was reunited with his relieved partner and Police officers had returned to their vehicles.
Once our assistance was no longer required both rescue teams returned to their stations and were stood down from tasking.
May we advise that if you are out walking in an area that you are not familiar with please make sure you have a fully charged phone with you, a map of the area and take some time to revise local signage and familiarise yourself with your entry and exits to the area.
Always give yourself enough time to get back to an area of safety before darkness. If you have to call emergency services please remain in your last reported location to enable us to find you quicker.
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