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July
24, 2004
A relieved family has thanked the Burnham-On-Sea hovercraft crew for rescuing their two dogs from treacherous mud at Brean. Glyn and Carol Thomas from Bristol had almost given up Muttley and Rosie as lost when the dogs became stranded on the mudflats on Saturday July 24. Every approach from the shore simply scared the tiny white West Highland terriers further away and towards the rising tide.
"The beach warden told me to come back because it was so dangerous. It was so distressing to watch. I was in tears," she said. As a last ditch effort, the Burnham hovercraft was called to the scene, about one mile from Brean Beach, at around 6.40pm. A crew of two went to the scene and after sizing up the situation, they skimmed out across the mud with two coastguards onboard. The coastguards managed to coax the dogs back on to the beach and into the relieved arms of the waiting family - Glyn, Carol and their nine year old son, Gavin. "We thought we were just going to find two bodies the following morning," said Mrs Thomas. "But the dogs were fine - just a bit dirty and in need of a big bath." A spokesman for BARB, the group that runs the Burnham hovercraft, said: "It was a case of getting personnel behind the dogs so we could push them up the beach rather than out towards the tide." RELATED LINKS:
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The
terrified pair could not be coaxed back to dry land despite the efforts
of the Burnham Coastguard and Mrs Thomas, who waded out until the mud
was around her waistline.