A motorist was rescued from a stranded car on Brean beach last night by Burnham Coastguards and a BARB hovercraft after he got stuck in mud and soft sand.
Crews were called to Brean beach at 5pm after a Ford Galaxy with two adults, a baby and two dogs became trapped in the mud with a fast-incoming tide nearby.
Brean’s beachwarden raised the alarm after seeing the vehicle in difficulty several hundred metres down the beach.
Since the driver had mobility problems, BARB’s Light of Elizabeth was tasked by Coastguards to fly out to the vehicle and safely take the man back up the beach to safety.
Crews then set about winching the stricken vehicle out of the mud before the rapidly-incoming tide could reach it.
The family, who are on holiday from the West Midlands, thanked the crews and said they would be making a donation to cover the costs.
Beachwarden Dave Furber added: “It was a race against the incoming tide to safely rescue the man and the vehicle before the sea reached it. The family were really grateful.”
It is the second vehicle in a week to get stuck at Brean after a campervan became stranded by the incoming tide on Sunday, as we reported here.
A Burnham-On-Sea Coastguard spokesman said: “Please be careful when driving on the beach – even 4x4s get stuck on a regular basis, so stay along the top of the beach and do not risk yourselves or your vehicle.”
BARB’s Operations Manager Mike Lowe added: “We retrieve vehicles when we can to avoid people putting their lives in danger by trying to recover them from dangerous locations. Our advice to motorists is to keep to the top of the beach and to check the tide times in advance.”
