Schoolboy 'jumping waves with friends' drowned after being swept out to sea

A 14-year-old boy was "jumping the waves" while playing on the beach with friends before being swept out to sea in a "catastrophic accident", an heard.

Daniel Halliday, from Tuebrook,, was taken out by the strong waves after going into the water near Crosby beach's radar tower at around 6.30pm on June 30 last year. A massive search and rescue operation was launched involving HM Coastguard, the RNLI, , and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service.

Lifeboat, helicopter and aircraft crews carried out searches spanning from the Crosby coast to the Wirral peninsula and Hoylake, but were unable to locate the teenager.

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His body was found at around 7.45pm on July 8 by an RNLI team carrying out a training exercise between New Brighton and Liverpool. A post-mortem examination found his cause of death was drowning. An inquest hearing, taking place at Sefton coroner's court today, April 10, was told the teenager had been "having fun and enjoying himself" moments before tragedy struck.

Daniel had spent the afternoon with two other children, a boy and a girl, in Liverpool city centre, where they had lunch at McDonald's and walked to the Royal Albert Dock. They travelled by bus to Crosby and walked onto the beach, where they spent time playing, writing on the sand, digging holes and taking pictures of the Anthony Gormley "Another Place" statues.

They spent some time jumping in the waves before the boys returned to the beach to check their mobile phones, but found they had run out of power. They then went back into the water, along with the girl, reported the .

The boy who accompanied Daniel said: "We decided to go back into the water and jump the waves. We were doing that for a while, then the waves seemed to get bigger and (the girl) was struggling so I took her on my back. I took her out of the water and onto the rocks.

"I had been shouting to Daniel to get on his back. I climbed onto the rocks but slipped and fell down. I could see Daniel on his back; he was floating out."

The boy found an orange life ring on the shore and attempted to throw it to Daniel, but was unable to reach him. He said: "At this point I was screaming and shouting because I was getting nowhere.

"I saw a runner on the beach so I was shouting and screaming to him for help." He said he ran along the beach and used the man's phone to call 999 at around 6.40pm.

The hearing was told there were 35 signs in the area warning visitors of potential dangers, including soft sand and mud, high tides, and "no swimming" warnings, along with the words "this beach is hazardous". Visitors were advised to remain within 50m of the sea wall. Both the boy and girl said they did not notice any of the warning signs on the beach.

An RNLI lifeguard, contracted by Sefton Council, had also been on duty on the beach that day, as the hearing was told Crosby Beach was patrolled by lifeguards every day of the year due to its popularity. However, patrols ceased at 6pm, before Daniel and the other children got into trouble.

CCTV captured at around 6.30pm on June 30 showed the three children playing in the water. Merseyside Police detective inspector Paul McVeigh said: "CCTV was positioned between the beach and Seaforth Docks. It showed at 6.34pm three youths swimming in the sea before one of them was swept out, away from the beach in the direction of Liverpool.

"Daniel can be seen disappearing off camera towards Liverpool with his head still above the water. Camera two shows, between 6.42pm and 6.45pm, (the boy) stood on the rocks looking out to sea before picking up a life ring that was on the rocks."

However, it was heard that the life ring had not been officially placed on the shore, and had likely been washed up by the tide. This was because the water in the area was too shallow for the equipment to be effective, as anyone who was within reaching distance of it would have been able to stand up in the water, HM Coastguard officer David Morris explained.

HM Coastguard called off the search at around 9.30am on July 1 after it was determined that, if Daniel was still above the water, he would have been located during the extensive search.

The investigation was handed over to Merseyside Police, who continued to search the area with underwater teams until Daniel's body was discovered on July 8.

Handing down a conclusion of accidental death, coroner Julie Goulding said: "Daniel was tragically found deceased on July 8 2024 at New Brighton on the Wirral. On June 30 Daniel, who was 14, was playing on Crosby beach and in the sea outside Crosby marina, near the radar tower, when he was swept out to sea.

"About 6.34pm the three could be seen playing in the sea before Daniel got into difficulty and was swept away in the direction of Liverpool with his head still above the water.

"The other two young people, who also got into difficulty, were able to extricate themselves from the sea, but Daniel was unable to escape the strong current."

She described the safety signage at the beach as "suitable and sufficient", and the search operation as "swift and professional." She added: "Unfortunately the catastrophic accident unfolded when three young people were out having fun together and enjoying themselves."