More than 130 cockle-pickers were helped to safety from Morecambe Bay after the coastguard responded to reports of two tractors colliding and getting stuck in the sands.

Cumbria police and Liverpool coastguard launched a major search and rescue operation on Saturday morning. Police and RAF helicopters were scrambled to the scene, some four miles from the coast near Newbiggin, in Furness.

According to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the rescue was prompted by the collision of one tractor trailer carrying 60 Scottish cocklers and a second trailer with 76 Chinese cocklers. The two vehicles were said to be stuck next to the deep Lancaster channel, one of four gullies that criss-cross the area and generate dangerous tides.

The rescuers feared the crash might leave the cocklers miles out from shore with no transport to safety.

Hovercraft, helicopters and lifeboats all pulled the endangered cocklers off the sands before the tide could turn and put their lives at risk. However, Cumbria Police later cast doubt on whether there had been a rescue' or not. A spokesman said the tractors were able to drive off the sands. Police are still investigating the alleged collision.

Fisherwoman Janet Butler, from Newbiggin, called for Government action to regulate the Bay and to control the hordes causing litter and noise problems, as well as using unlicensed vehicles.

She warned it was inevitable that more people would be killed in the treacherous sands unless effective controls were put in place.

Her views were echoed by Newbiggin resident Bill Clouter, who lives on the coast and witnessed the rescue operation.

Mr Clouter and his wife Gwenda at first feared another tragedy on the scale of the February disaster when 21 Chinese cocklers lost their lives after getting into difficulty at Hest Bank.

"They the cocklers went out at 7.30am. About 60 boarded a trailer down on the sands. We were surprised to see them starting to come back at about 11am because it was early."

Mr Clouter said three helicopters and a hovercraft then arrived on the scene, along with some two dozen police officers. He estimated that around 60 people were airlifted off the sands, with helicopters making repeated take-offs and landings in a field close to his home.

A Cumbria Police spokesman said inquiries were continuing and officers were liaising with the Health and Safety Executive.