A RED flare set off by fans as part of Liverpool FC victory celebrations sparked a huge emergency services response in New Brighton.
Hoylake RNLI plus Wirral and Flint Coastguard Rescue Teams were called into action at around 11.40pm on Saturday, June 1 after a red parachute flare was spotted by RNLI hovercraft crews in New Brighton.
A search was carried out from Marine Point through to Egremont and teams spoke to residents who had also seen the flares.
They found no sightings or reports of anyone in distress so all teams stood down, concluding that the flare had been fired as part local celebrations.
volunteer RNLI hovercraft commander Matt Pownall-Jones told the Globe: "We cannot emphasise enough that red flares must only be used in an emergency as a distress signal.
"Other uses of red flares can lead to false alarms for the emergency services and the diversion of vital search and rescue assets from potentially life and death situations."
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