A 4×4 with young children inside got stuck in the mud on a beach after its driver allegedly ignored warning signs.

A team from HM Coastguard was scrambled by Holyhead Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre to a location near Weld Road car park in Southport at about 20:00 BST.

The Southport Coastguard Rescue Team said: "The stuck car was part of a small group of 4×4 vehicles that had disregarded a large warning sign and had all driven onto unsafe ground.

"Once we had ensured the young children in the stuck vehicle could be taken home, and that the vehicle would be recovered in daylight, the team stood down."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said Sefton Council had erected signs at beaches like Ainsdale and Southport to warn motorist against driving on the beach.

These signs follow RNLI guidelines and indicate potential dangers like soft sand, rising tides, and the need for responsible parking.

The council also provides advice on checking tide times and being aware of your surroundings.

A spokesperson for HM Coastguard said: "At around 8.02pm last night, HM Coastguard was made aware of a stranded vehicle at Southport beach.

"The Southport Coastguard Rescue Team attended to check the welfare of any people involved and provided an update to police.

"We urge motorists to take notice of the signs at Weld Road, and not to attempt to drive out towards the tide line."

Two men accused of chopping down the famous Sycamore Gap tree kept a wedge as a trophy in a felling that prosecutors described as a "moronic mission".

The tree had stood for more than 100 years in a dip on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland before it was felled overnight on 27 September 2023, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Daniel Michael Graham, 39, from Carlisle, and Adam Carruthers, 32, from Wigton in Cumbria, each deny two counts of criminal damage relating to the tree and the Roman wall.

Opening the case to jurors, prosecutor Richard Wright KC said the tree, which was held in "high affection" by many, had been chopped down in just minutes and the accused had "loved" the outrage caused.

The tree, which was planted in the late 1800s, had become "famous" and been photographed and depicted in films and art works "countless times", Mr Wright said.

• The trial opening as it happened

On the night of 27 September, Mr Carruthers and Mr Graham had made a 40-minute drive in the latter's Range Rover from Cumbria to chop down the tree, the prosecutor said.

As one had cut it down using a technique known as hinge and wedge, the other had filmed the act of "deliberate mindless criminal damage" on Mr Graham's mobile phone, the court heard.

In the two minute and 41 second-long grainy video shown to jurors, a silhouetted figure can be seen appearing to cut at the base of a large tree which then falls over with a big crash.

Mr Wright said the person filming the "criminal" act was just as responsible as the person "wielding the chainsaw".

"Though the tree had grown for over a hundred years, the act of irreparably damaging it was the work of a matter of minutes," Mr Wright said.

It was a "moronic mission" that the pair had appeared to be "revelling in", the prosecutor said.

Mobile phone data and automatic number plate recognition cameras showed them travelling towards and away from the remote site, with a wedge of wood believed to have been cut out of the tree photographed by the pair in the boot of Mr Graham's car, the court heard.

The following morning, when news of the "senseless" attack had broken and sparked international outrage, the two accused shared multiple news and social media posts between themselves.

In one message, Mr Graham said "here we go", the court heard.

In a comment on Facebook, a man wrote: "Some weak people that walk this earth, disgusting behaviour."

Two minutes later, Mr Graham sent his co-accused a voice note saying: "Weak? Does he realise how heavy [stuff] is?"

Mr Carruthers responded saying he would like to see the commenter "launch an operation like we did last night", adding: "I don't think he's got the minerals."

Mr Wright said that message was the "clearest confirmation in their own voices" the two men were responsible for felling the tree.

The prosecutor said messages the men exchanged in the aftermath showed they were "loving" and "revelling in" the public's response.

He said: "This is excitement at the fact it's gone worldwide, it's gone viral, it's being talked about all over the world.

"There is no sadness here or remorse."

'Public revulsion'

The court heard the men had proven expertise to fell a large tree, with a video of them doing so filmed just weeks before.

Both also had chainsaws at their homes but it was not believed they were the tools used to fell the Sycamore Gap tree.

Mr Wright said neither that chainsaw nor the wedge of wood taken from the tree as a "trophy" had been found and they had probably been "hidden away".

Mr Wright said both men denied their involvement to police and would seek to blame each other, their once close friendship appearing to have unravelled "perhaps as the public revulsion at their behaviour became clear to them".

Jurors had previously been warned to try the case purely on the evidence heard in court and set all emotion aside.

The trial continues.