EMERGENCY crews were called out to rescue a teenage boy over the weekend after he became marooned on the island in the middle of the iced-over Eccleston Mere boating lake.

The 14-year-old and a group of friends had walked across the frozen mere to the island just before 1.30pm on Sunday, January 21 but following a series of cracks, they had been too frightened to risk walking back to safety.

Fortunately, members of Pilkington Sailing Club, who sail on the mere every weekend, soon arrived for a meeting in the clubhouse and spotted the boys' plight.

One of the club members, Freda Lunt, told the Star: "The sailing had been cancelled for the afternoon because of the ice, but we had called a meeting to check out a new piece of equipment which was lucky because no one would have turned up otherwise. We saw the boys as soon as we arrived.

"Some of them had managed to walk back but I think one had already fallen through some ice near the water's edge and was too scared to risk it."

Club members immediately called out the emergency services and the boy was finally rescued by firefighters, Mick Foster and Paul Howard, with the aid of inflatable mud mats to cover the icy surface. He was then taken to Whiston Hospital where he was treated for hypothermia.

Sailing club commodore, Steven Hunt, who assisted in the rescue, said: "The island holds a fascination for youngsters, last year a boy got into difficulty swimming to the island and had to be rescued by club members. This situation could have been tragic if all five boys had been stranded in such a remote place or had fallen through the ice.

"Parents must ensure that their children are warned of the danger of venturing onto frozen lakes and ponds as there have been so many cases where children have drowned or suffered from hypothermia after falling through the ice.