Cocklers returned to Morecambe Bay on Tuesday

A lifeboat was scrambled when the group was spotted in difficulty in an area known as Priest Skears.

The group, all believed to be English, managed to make their way back to shore, according to police.

The alert came shortly after a memorial service was held for 19 cocklers who drowned in the bay a week ago.

Police are still investigating the tragedy after bailing all seven people arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.

The victims were all Chinese and their deaths have prompted calls for better laws protecting migrant workers and regulation of labour providers, known as 'gangmasters'.

Unable to speak English and under the control of a gang master, these people were being paid one-fifth of the standard rate for their work Geraldine Smith MP, in a 2003 letter to the Home Office MP meets ministers over cocklers

A Lancashire Police spokesman said there had been between 30 and 40 cocklers in the latest group to become stranded - all believed to be locally-based.

They all made their own way to the shore safely, at an area known as Redbank, before rescuers reached them.

Local resident Keith Budden saw the attempted rescue: "It is all very eerie, it was just like deja vu. It is only a week ago that we were looking at a disaster. I thought this was another one."

Morecambe Bay is well-known for its treacherous sands and fast-moving incoming tides.

Its funnel-shape, broad and shallow formation and a 10 metre-high range in its tide mean it can become treacherous in minutes.

Last month, 30 people were rescued after getting into difficulties in the bay and in 2002 a father and his nine-year-old son died when they became disorientated in fog and the sea suddenly closed in on them.

'Tranquillity and peace'

Thursday's rescue took place just after a memorial service held by Buddhists for the victim's of last week's tragedy.

Buddhist monks from Manchester chanted prayers which they believe release the souls of the dead to be reincarnated.

Stephen Chung, a spokesman for the Chinese community in the north west, said: "We want justice for those who have died and believe the police are doing a good job in trying to track down those responsible."