Three people stuck in mud in the River Axe estuary next to Brean Down sparked a rescue bid by Coastguards from Burnham-On-Sea and Weston on Saturday evening (July 9th).
One of the three men – who is circled above – was stuck waist-deep in mud while making an attempt to cross the treacherous river from Weston to Brean.
Two teams of Coastguards from Burnham and Weston were called to the scene at 8pm on the north side of the river to locate the trio after walkers on Brean Down reported hearing calls for help.
A police helicopter was also called in to locate the trio and the men eventually struggled back to shore where they were met by police and paramedics. Burnham-On-Sea’s rescue hovercraft was also ready to fly to the scene.
Burnham Coastguard Office Steve Bird told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “Under no circumstances should anyone ever try to cross this river estuary. We received three 999 calls tonight from concerned walkers who saw the three men in the mud and, while no-one was injured this time, we could easily have seen a tragic ending.”
One of the men could be seen struggling waist-deep in the mud
Burnham Coastguards sent its mud rescue team along the river banks
Another Burnham Coastguard viewed the casualties from the top of Brean Down
A police helicopter flew above the men to monitor their progress
The men eventually managed to wade back across the mud to the shore
One was completely covered in mud from head to foot, as pictured here
They were met by police and ambulance teams on Uphill beach
