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Published:
April 17, 2008
Stranded
Burnham-On-Sea fire engine pulled to safety on beach
Three
tractors were used to retrieve a trapped fire engine on Berrow
Beach, near Burnham-On-Sea, on Thursday evening (April 17th) after
it became stranded in soft sand.
Burnham-based
rescue charity BARB was called to help free the Devon and Somerset
fire engine after its wheels sank into deep sand near the top
of the beach after its crew tackled a reed
bed fire south west of Berrow Church.
 Two
tractors from Brean Farm and Northam Farm were also called to
the scene and they worked with BARB's rescue tractor to pull the
stranded vehicle free at around 6.30pm.
The
incident follows a spate of similar incidents on local beaches
in recent weeks when vehicles have become stuck.
On
Sunday April 13th, BARB came to the aid of an ambulance
crew when their vehicle became stuck in soft sand. On
April 5th, a family of three was rescued at Brean when their 4x4
vehicle became trapped in mud, requiring Burnham's Spririt
Of Lelaina hovercraft as help. And last month BARB came to the
rescue of a quad bike
stuck in mud on Burnham beach. Earlier this week, an ice cream
van also became stuck on Burnham beach and needed to be pulled
free.
 BARB
Chairman Mark Newman said: "It has been a very busy few weeks
of vehicle incidents for BARB's 24-hour crews."
"The
fire crew were simply unlucky, however we would advise other motorists
to take special care when driving along local beaches, avoiding
soft sand and mud given the current conditions."
BARB,
a 15-year-old Burnham charity, operates an inshore rescue boat,
two hovercrafts and a rescue tractor.
RELATED
LINKS:
Burnham-On-Sea
Hovercraft Web site
BBC Online coverage of this incident
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