By Stefan Morkis

A FOUR-YEAR-OLD girl being held above the incoming tide by two terrified adults was plucked to safety by the Broughty Ferry Inshore lifeboat crew yesterday.

The girl and the adults, understood to be from Dunkeld, were caught by rising tides on a sandbank at the mouth of the River Eden in St Andrews around 2.30pm.

The new Broughty Ferry inshore lifeboat, the Sheila Barrie, was alerted to the incident 10 minutes later and was launched within seven minutes.

By the time it reached St Andrews the adults were chest deep in water and holding the girl above their heads to keep her safe.

Andrew Jeffrey from Broughty Ferry RNLI said, “They were extremely grateful to see the inshore lifeboat as they were having to hold the girl up above the water.

“The new inshore lifeboat cost £31,000 but has 20% more power and the incident shows the importance of response times.”

Earlier this year, the RNLI team at Broughty Ferry issued a warning to those visiting beaches in Tayside and Fife specifically regarding the dangers of sandbanks.

Dr Jeffrey said, “Sandbanks are a real danger.

“People look out and see what they think is part of the beach, only to find out it is a shrinking island that will soon be covered by water.”

Two years ago, six teenagers were lucky to escape with their lives in the same stretch of water after being cut off by the tide.

It took a full-scale rescue operation, including two lifeboats and a rescue helicopter, to ensure they escaped unhurt.