A girl was rescued from the sea after getting stuck in mud on Brean beach on Sunday (September 13th).
Teams from Burnham-On-Sea Coastguard and Weston, plus a hovercraft from Burnham’s BARB Search & Rescue were called to the beach at 12 mid-day after the beach warden raised the alarm.
Two Coastguard Mud Technicians waded through the mud and shallow sea water to rescue the shaken girl. The sea water had risen around her knees as she was freed from the mud and returned, unhurt, to her relieved family.
A Burnham Coastguard spokesman said: “A family of welcome visitors were enjoying their day and the long stretches of golden sand when they hit a soft patch. One of the group became stuck fast and was unable to free herself from the clutches of the mud.”
“Local food traders and the Brean Beach Warden were quick to raise the alarm as the tide was turning and beginning to approach the young lady at some speed. Our team were soon leaving the station and making our way through the traffic while our flank team from Weston-Super-Mare Coastguard Rescue Team were also tasked to provide assistance.”
“Our friends from BARB Search & Rescue were tasked and launched from Burnham Beach and flew along the tideline to our location in Brean Beach. As we arrived on scene we could see that the person was stuck but not in too much danger at that time but the tide as ever was racing towards her.”
“We quickly set up two Mud Rescue Technicians, complete with rescue sleds and equipment which took less than five minutes and they set off towards the stuck young lady. By this time the tide had advanced to a point where the sleds were no longer needed so after detaching from them they continued onwards to carry out what we term as a ‘snatch rescue’. This is basically an immediate rescue of the person, while the Weston Team set about providing safety cover with lifejackets and throwlines and we had the BARB hovercraft at the ready in case it was needed in a hurry.”
He added: “As you can see from the pictures the tide was rising ever higher and our two techs had to work quickly to dig her out and return her to the safety of the shore. What started out as routine walk out and walk them back incident turned into a dynamic ever-changing plan that required strong teamwork and fast working.”
“We recently had an incident where the lady was up to her neck in water while stuck in the mud and we were keen to avoid a repeat if possible. Thankfully with some fast expert work from the tech, he managed to spring her free in no time at all and she was walked back to safety for a quick check-up by the awaiting combined team members.”
“This goes to show how quickly our plans can change and how we need to be able to adapt to the ever-changing situation around us. This family’s day changed quickly too after getting caught out by a really soft sticky patch of mud, we have seen time and again this year how much the beaches are changing every day with some really random soft patches appearing in different places after each tide.”
“Thankfully we have a lot of eagle-eyed friends along our seven miles of sand and the often undervalued Beach Wardens who do the right thing and dial 999 asking for the Coastguards without people calling it in we wouldn’t be there to help so keep up the good work and let’s keep spreading our safety message so more people know who to call if they have an emergency at the beach.”
Beach warden Craig Marshall was praised for his quick-thinking in keeping the girl calm and keeping her informed of progress throughout the incident.
