A man has died after it is believed he got into difficulty in the sea close to the pier at St Anne's.

Emergency services were called at around 7.20pm today (Friday, July 23rd) after reports of a person drowning.

HM Coastguard attended and the man, aged 19, from Preston was rescued from the water and taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital but sadly died a short while later.

The man’s next of kin are being informed and our thoughts are with his loved ones at this time.

Enquiries are ongoing to establish the exact circumstances surrounding his death and it is not currently being treated as suspicious.

Three other casualties were taken to hospital to be treated for water inhalation.

We are appealing for anyone who witnessed the incident to contact police on 101 or email [email protected] quoting log number 1515 of July 23rd.