Burnham-On-Sea Coastguards were called out on Monday afternoon (March 8th) amid concerns that an object spotted in the mud on the town’s beach could be a hi-visibility lifejacket.
Coastguards were called to Burnham-On-Sea beach at 3.57pm, after the object was spotted in the mud by a lady walking along the sands next to the north Esplanade.
“We were tasked with reports of an object in the mud that looked to be a hi-visibility jacket,” says a Coastguard spokesman.
“The first informant was concerned it may have been a person and dialled 999 asking for the Coastguard to report her concerns.”
“The Coastguard Operations Centre (CGOC) then activated our pagers which we responded to, and each team member left their work or families and headed off to the station to get their PPE on before heading to the town slip to meet up with the person who had reported the object.”
“As we were arriving on station the person rang the ops room back and stated that another member of public had walked out into the mud to retrieve the item and found it to be a balloon.”
“While we appreciate that people would want to help out, if this was indeed the case we would advise anyone not to walk out into the mud as we could then be facing a second casualty to extract making our job more difficult and placing the first person in even further danger.”
“After a quick scout round by the team members, there was no sign of any balloons in bins or muddy members of public so we headed back to station to update the Operations Centre in Milford Haven who were happy for us to stand down and return to our working day.”
“We always appreciate any call if you have concerns for someone’s safety. If you are nearby please resist the urge to put yourselves in danger in an attempt to help, statistics show that you are more likely to become a casualty with a greater risk of injury or death.”
“Keep looking out for each other but remember your safety is the most important, stay at a place of safety and dial 999 asking for the Coastguards. Stay safe out there and keep following Government guidelines.”
Pictured: A local photographer took these images of the balloon in the mud earlier in the day on the beach
