SAFETY measures at a £1.9million seafront lagoon will be reviewed as part of the attraction remains sealed off after a schoolgirl was injured.

The teenager was rushed to hospital after getting her leg trapped on rock armour at the Three Shells Lagoon, in Southend, on Friday afternoon.

The Echo told yesterday how firefighters used specialist equipment in a 90 minute operation to free the girl before she could be rescued by coastguards. She was taken to Southend Hospital.

Council staff will now patrol the lagoon, which opened last summer, at weekends. Some rocks have also been removed as part of the family attraction remains taped off to members of the public.

Council leader John Lamb said: “We are aware of a concerning incident that occurred at the lagoon on Friday afternoon.

“Our thoughts are with the girl who will have found the incident and rescue traumatic, and we wish her a swift recovery. We extend these thoughts to her family who must be distressed by what happened.

“We would also like to thank the emergency services for their speedy and professional response in dealing with this incident.”

Mr Lamb added: “We have taped off the small area of lagoon where the incident took place and rocks were removed to maintain safety and a member of resort services staff will monitor the lagoon between 8am and 6pm over the weekend.

“Whilst we conducted a thorough risk assessment before opening the lagoon, we hold safety arrangements in constant review with partners, such as those in the emergency services, and clearly we will review this latest incident with these partners to ensure they remain sufficient.”

The council has urged visitors to the lagoon “to observe the signs, supervise children at all times, keep away from the rocks and remain vigilant as you would on any part of the seafront.”

More than 14,000 cubic tonnes of granite rock was used to mark out the new football pitch sized lagoon. The lagoon, measuring 1.1 metres at its deepest, ensures visitors can swim in the sea even when the tide is out.