Head pays tribute to 'brightest star'

Incoming tides speed across the Morecambe Bay sands

A second body discovered washed up on a Cumbrian beach has been formally identified as that of nine-year-old Adam Rushton.

Adam and his father, 51-year-old Stewart Rushton, drowned in icy waters on Saturday afternoon while rescuers stood yards away as the pair screamed for help.

Emergency services could not reach them because of a raging incoming tide.

The headteacher at George Romney Junior School in Dalton-in-Furness, where Adam was a pupil said he was hard-working, pleasant, and polite.

Adam was the second youngest of four children

Lynne McGraw said she would "always remember Adam's habit of seeking her out on a Friday to wish her a happy weekend".

Ms McGraw added that he was one of their "brightest stars".

Father and son became stranded on a sandbank as the tide rose during a fishing trip.

Mr Rushton, from Cemetery Hill, Dalton, Cumbria, made a last desperate call with the water lapping around his neck and Adam perched precariously on his shoulders.

As the situation became more desperate, he could hear the police sirens but could not tell which direction they were coming from, a police spokesman said.

Some of the officers could hear him shouting but felt helpless because they could not get to him. The run of the tide made it impossible

Pc Tony Hawson

Officers standing on the shore could hear his cries but dared not enter the water due to the treacherous tide.

Mr Rushton's body was found by his son-in-law at about 1000 GMT on Sunday in an area of sandbanks and mud flats about two kilometres from the high water mark at Bardsea.

Adam's body was found a few hours later further down the coast towards Barrow.

Pc Tony Hawson, one of the first officers on the scene, said: "We did have two-tone sirens but unfortunately he was saying on his mobile phone that he was very disorientated because of the fog and mist around him.

"Some of the officers could hear him shouting but felt helpless because they could not get to him. The run of the tide made it impossible.

"He sounded as though he was a few hundred yards offshore but with the fog and the mist they couldn't tell where he was."

Treacherous sand

The pair had decided to go fishing at Priory Point, near Ulverston in Cumbria on Saturday and walked out on to the sand wearing waders.

They left their fishing equipment in the car and walked for about 10 minutes on to the sand before realising they were in trouble.

Mr Rushton contacted his wife to raise the alarm, who then called the coastguard at 1425 GMT on Saturday.

A series of desperate calls were exchanged between Mr Rushton and the emergency services and a rescue operation was launched.

Dennis Laird, the coastguard's deputy station officer at Walney, said the sand was very soft and treacherous and visibility was reduced to 25 yards.

The Coastguard Agency refused to release the transcript of the conversation between them and Mr Rushton due to its distressing nature.

A spokesman said: "It became very distressing for both sides, we could hear the sound of water and the father shouting."

Adam was the second youngest of four children.

Mr Rushton, a process worker, had one grandchild.