Families were left 'trapped' on an 'island' that formed in Formby after the tide quickly came in and cut them off from the beach.
Visitors who headed to the coast to enjoy the bank holiday sunshine were trapped with prams and bags, leaving them having to wade through 'knee deep water'.
A mum-of-one told the ECHO: "“I checked the tide times before leaving because I didn’t want to turn up at the wrong time, so I was well aware of when the high tide was due.
"But it was like we blinked and it had come right in. There was a stretch of water behind the sand we were on and it had come right round, we and a load of other families were trapped on like an island.
The families were forced to struggle through the surrounding water to get back on the beach where hundreds had come to visit.
The mum-of-one, who asked to remain anonymous, said: "I had to carry the pram through knee deep water at one point, it wasn’t the best. Thankfully lots of people were offering to help others.”
People have been queuing across Merseyside to get near the beach, with many cars being told to turn back with carparks filling up this morning.
Dozens of cars were issued with fines yesterday after visitors flocked to the sunny seaside at Formby.
A section of Formby Beach remains sealed off after a triple stabbing last night which left a 20-year-old fighting for his life, with three men being airlifted to hospital.
Police are still appealing for information.
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
