The Morecambe Bay cockling disaster occurred on the evening of the 5 February 2004 in North West England, United Kingdom when at least 21 cockle pickers were drowned by the incoming tide off the coast of Lancashire/ Cumbria in Morecambe Bay. Morecambe Bay at low tide from Hest Bank, looking towards Grange-over-Sands. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... is the 36th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... North West England is one of the nine regions of England. ... Genera Acanthocardia Americardia Cardium Cerastoderma Clinocardium Corculum Ctenocardia Dinocardium Discors Fragum Fulvia Laevicardium Lophocardiium Lyrocardium Lunulicardia Microcardium Nemocardium Papyridea Parvicardium Plagiocardium Ringicardium Trachycardium Trigoniocardia Serripes Cockle is the common name for bivalve mollusks of the family Cardiidae. ... Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ... Cumbria (IPA: ), is a shire county in the extreme North West of England. ... Morecambe Bay at low tide from Hest Bank, looking towards Grange-over-Sands. ...

A work gang of Chinese workers were collecting cockles on Warton Bank, near Hest Bank, when a number were cut off by the incoming tide in the bay at around 9:30 in the evening. Hest Bank is a village in north-western Lancashire, England, the boundaries of which include the coastline, from a western shoreline of salt-flats that adjoin the northern extremities of Morecambes Victorian era Promenade, to a less clearly defined boundary in the east with the village of Slyne, which...

Although the emergency services were alerted by a mobile phone call made by one of the workers, only one of the workers was rescued from the waters. A total of 21 bodies, of men and women between the ages of 18 and 45, were recovered from the bay after the incident. A further two cocklers are believed to have been with those drowned, but their bodies were never found. Fourteen other members of the group are reported to have made it safely to the shore, making 15 survivors in total. The workers were all illegal immigrants, mainly from the Fujian province of China, and have been described as being untrained and inexperienced. Illegal immigration is the act of moving to or settling in another country or region, temporarily or permanently, in violation of the law or without documents permitting an immigrant to settle in that country. ...   (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Fu-chien; Postal map spelling: Fukien, Foukien; local transliteration Hokkien from Min Nan Hok-kiàn) is one of the provinces on the southeast coast of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

The disaster led to the Gangmaster Licensing Act 2004 and the formation of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority. The Gangmasters Licensing Authority is a UK agency regulating the supply of workers to the agricultural, horticultural and shellfish industries. ...

From 2005 to 2006, four men and one woman were tried at Preston Crown Court, accused of manslaughter or helping the cocklers break immigration law. On March 24, 2006, Lin Liang Ren was convicted of 21 counts of manslaughter. Lin was described in court as being "callous" and motivated by money. Lin claimed that ultimate responsibility lay with the clients, with frequent price cutting by middlemen to blame for the harsh regime. On 28 March 2006, he was sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment, with a recommendation that he be deported to China at the end of his sentence. This article is about Preston, Lancashire. ... is the 83rd day of the year (84th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 87th day of the year (88th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

His girlfriend Zhao Xiao Qing and cousin Lin Mu Yong were found guilty of the immigration offences. The first two were also found guilty of three charges of perverting the course of justice, by trying to persuade survivors to name some of the dead as the gangmasters. Lin Mu Yong's girlfriend, Janie Bannister, gave evidence against him in court. David Anthony Eden senior and David Anthony Eden junior, from Prenton in Merseyside, who bought cockles from the work gang, were cleared of helping the workers break immigration law. Sentencing took place on March 28, 2006. Zhao Xiao Qing was sentenced to two years and nine months, and Lin Mu Yong was sentenced to four years and nine months. , Prenton is a suburb of Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England. ... Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. ... is the 87th day of the year (88th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Ghosts

The film Ghosts, directed by Nick Broomfield, which is a dramatisation of the events leading up to the tragedy, was aired on the UK television channel More4 on 21 April 2007. Ghosts (鬼佬) is a 2006 drama film directed by Nick Broomfield, based on the 2004 Morecambe Bay cockling disaster. ... Nick Broomfield with his famous sound boom and half-on headphones. ... More4 is a digital television channel, produced by United Kingdom broadcaster Channel 4, that launched on 10 October 2005. ... is the 111th day of the year (112th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

External links

• BBC report, February 2004
• BBC report on inquest
• BBC report on the distress call
• BBC report on trial, January 2006
• BBC report, Lin Liang Ren found guilty
• BBC report, Cockler gangmaster gets 14 years
• Cockler survivor hates gangmaster
• Charity for the survivors
• movie website
• Ghosts on More4