A man has been taken to hospital with a broken leg after jumping from the Pavilion into the sea at high tide on Monday evening (April 30th) without realising how shallow the water is.
A team of Burnham-On-Sea Coastguards and an ambulance was called to the pier at 8.14pm, as pictured here, where the man had been seen struggling in sea water on the north side of the building.
The 23 year-old man had jumped from The Pavilion into the sea just before high tide, thinking there was enough water depth.
Two quick-thinking passers-by rushed to the man’s aid, helping him from the water’s edge, and onto the safety of the sea wall, as pictured here.
Burnham Coastgurds were called to the scene and they worked with paramedics to move the man onto a stretcher to be taken to a waiting ambulance.
Ian Jefferies, Burnham Coastguard Deputy Station Officer, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We urge people never to jump from the Pavilion or other heigh structures into the sea – you never know the depth of the water or what’s underneath the water surface.”
“The beach here has a shallow drop-off around The Pavilion with just a few feet of water, even at high tide.”
“We thank the passers-by for their swift actions in helping the man from the water’s edge given that the tide was still coming in at the time.”
He added: “After a few drinks it seemed like a good idea for someone to jump off the pier into the water. Unfortunately, the water isn’t as deep as you imagine at that point and with a crunch he hit the shallow water followed by the hard sand underneath and subsequently broke his leg.”
“When we arrived on scene he was on the concrete slope just beneath the pier with the water still firmly lapping round him.”
“We moved him to the safety of the disabled access ramp and with perfect timing the first responder arrived followed by an ambulance.”
“They quickly and efficiently whisked him off to hospital where hopefully he will be patched up and reflect on his error of judgement.”
“Alcohol and the sea are not a good mix as this shows. Tombstoning is very dangerous and accounts for some horrific life changing injuries. This man was lucky he only broke his leg, it could’ve been a lot worse.”
Burnham-On-Sea, Brean and Berrow are experiencing high Spring tides this week.
