A CHORLEY schoolgirl was plucked to safety after a diving expedition in North Wales went dramatically wrong.

Rachael Duxbury, aged 16, who goes to Southlands High, was diving at Ravens Head off the coast of Anglesey with a friend when she got into difficulties.

Rachael, of Westhoughton Road, Adlington, was diving in 12 metres of water on Sunday morning when she swam to the surface too quickly.

She started suffering from decompression sickness, also known as 'the bends', a potentially fatal condition where air bubbles get trapped in the bloodstream.

Rachael's friends from the Bolton-based Farnworth Sub-Aqua Club alerted coastguards as she lay semi-conscious, complaining of chest pains.

The helicopter crew plucked Rachael to safety from rocks and flew her to Murrayfield Hospital in Wirral, giving her emergency treatment on the way.

She spent five hours in a decompression chamber, was detained overnight and returned home on Monday.

David North, coastguard watch officer for North Wales, said: "The bends is very serious and once we established the girl had it we mounted a co-ordinated operation and the RAF helicopter was diverted."

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