IT has been a quiet couple weeks for the Arnside Coastguard who have had a ‘bizarre’ turnaround on the number of alarm call-outs received.

During June and July the team attended dozens of alerts and rescues – with walkers becoming stranded by the incoming tide or stuck in quicksands.

But in the last two weeks the phone has not rung once.

The village’s station officer Nigel Capstick said: “It’s unbelievable – we have had nothing at all in recent days. It’s bizarre because we were rushed off our feet and now it is completely dead.

“I am sure that The West-morland Gazette’s Safety on the Sands campaign has made a difference but it is also down to the weather in some measure.

“It has been wet and windy and that means people do just not want to venture out.”

Mr Capstick explained that despite the quiet spell the Coastguard team had kept themselves busy.

“We never stop training. If we are not up to scratch with our swimming and water rescue that is when we get kicked in the teeth.

“We have to keep up to standard 100 per cent of the year.”