CUMBRIA Police are to develop an emergency action plan to help prevent another tragedy in the sands of Morecambe Bay.

The plan follows concerns about the growing number of cockle pickers harvesting shellfish off Flookburgh as beds along the Furness Peninsula become exhausted.

Police are particularly worried about the number of people without local knowledge going out to the Flookburgh beds from the Bardsea side of the Cartmel Peninsula.

The access point is potentially treacherous because the River Leven flows into the bay putting cockle pickers at risk if they unknowingly wander past the river channel at high tide.

Inspector Ali Dufty, who covers the Flookburgh area, said that it was her priority "to save lives and prevent tragedy" in the bay.

Insp Dufty said that at present there are alternative access points on to the sand from Sandgate and Humphrey Head Point that avoid the Levens Channel. However, these areas are all part of the Holker Estate and access is restricted to only local people.

She said: "Some of the locals have been using the Flookburgh beds for a long time but we are worried about how people access them. My concern is that if people are accessing from the Aldingham side it is more dangerous."

Although the plan was still "at early days" of development, she said she planned to meet with representatives of the Holker Estate, local councillors and community members about the issue of access to the sands for all cockle pickers.

She added that she also hoped to work together with people from across the industry to resolve cockling related issues such as litter and nuisance behaviour.

The police are now also working closely and "sharing information" with Health and Safety officials who make frequent visits to the beach to inform cockle pickers of the potential risks.

Peter Hamer, the Health and Safety Executive's agricultural inspector for South Cumbria, said that the real danger lay in cockle pickers without local knowledge being unaware of the Levens channel.

But Flookburgh councillor at South Lakeland District Council, Jack Manning, said that he would not welcome cockle pickers from outside the area accessing beds from the Holker Estate.

He said: "I wouldn't want people from outside the area using it. It is private land and Lord Holker kindly allowed local people to go onto it."