Three people from the West Midlands were rescued from mudflats near Weston-super-Mare at the weekend after a high-performance vehicle became trapped.
A team of Burnham-On-Sea Coastguards and crewmen from Burnham’s Spirit Of Lelaina hovercraft were called to the scene, next to Brean Down, after a man and two children were trapped.
They helped driver Ian Jackson and his children, aged nine and six, to safety.
The family, from Small Heath in Birmingham, became trapped about 500m from the beach in their Toyota off-road 4×4. Mr Jackson, said: “I was very relieved to see the Burnham hovercraft and Coastguards arrive so quickly. We didn’t realise how dangerous the mudflats can be.”
Authorities in North Somerset give out an annual warning to families from the West Midlands not to stray on to mudflats off the coast of resorts like Weston, Burnham and Brean.
Tens of thousands of people from the Midlands travel to the area each year for holidays and coastguards say many do not understand how dangerous the coastline can be. The North Somerset coast, along the Bristol Channel, has the second largest tidal largest rise and fall in the world. It means the tide comes in very quickly and can endanger anyone caught in the mudflats.
Mark Newman, BARB chairman, said: “This incident once again underscores the danger of venturing out onto the mudflats.
“Fortunately, the Burnham hovercraft and coastguards were quickly on the scene and able to avoid any injuries.”
Brean’s beach warden raised the alarm after spotting the family in difficulty. BARB is a Burnham-based charity that operates two rescue hovercrafts and an inshore rescue boat.
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