Burnham-On-Sea Coastguards and BARB’s hovercrafts were called to Brean beach on Monday evening (August 10th) following reports of two people in the mud near Brean Down.
A member of the public had spotted them and walked down as far as was safe in an attempt to call them back but they couldn’t hear him.
He then headed back up the beach and contacted the beach warden by phone who then advised him to dial 999 and ask for Coastguards.
“With the incoming tide it was important to get assets on scene and so we were paged and headed to Brean with BARB Search & Rescue’s hovercrafts not far behind but flying from Burnham Beach,” said a Coastguard spokesman.
“When we arrived on scene we were waved down by the first informant, who was apologetic as he thought he may have wasted our time as the two people were now out and had headed back off the beach.”
“This is never a waste of our time as it is better for us to be on the beach and everyone safe than anyone in danger of being swamped by the tide.”
“The incident a week or so ago shows how vital every second is when the tide is coming in so it was the right thing to do.”
If you see someone in difficulty on local beaches, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.