A holiday turned into a washout when a Wolverhampton family’s car became stuck in the mud and was then engulfed by the tide at a popular tourist beach.

The family, including a boy and his parents, had been trying out their jetski at Burnham-on-Sea beach in Somerset when disaster struck. To their horror, the Ford Mondeo estate sank into the soft sand and mud.

Crowds watched as the father desperately tried to retrieve belongings from inside the car with the tide coming in.

Soon waves lapped over the vehicle and the car was almost completely submerged last night. It was later declared a write-off.

Coastguards and a rescue charity were dispatched at around 6pm to the coastline, which has the second highest tidal rise and fall in the world.

Rescuers had to wait 90 minutes for the tide to go down before a Burnham Area Rescue Boat (Barb) tractor towed the car to shore.

The family, from Wolverhampton, were on their way to Pontin’s in nearby Brean when they stopped to use the jetski on the first night of their holiday. They made a donation to Barb in return for their rescue.

Mark Newman, chairman of Barb, said today: “There was a very fast incoming tide and there was a bit of a race against time. They managed to salvage their suitcases and holiday gear but unfortunately the vehicle couldn’t be saved.

“The family were pretty distressed and shaken. One of our crew drove them onto Pontin’s The car appeared to have been written off. Salt doesn’t mix well with cars.”

Several West Midland families are involved in dramas every year along the Somerset coast, which also includes Weston-super-Mare.

Mr Newman said: “The Bristol Channel estuary does come in very quickly and we see this kind of incident frequently. Last summer there were six in one week and I would expected there were 20 or so during 2009.”