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March
20, 2005
A Vauxhall 4x4 and a £5,000 twin-seater jet ski were rescued by Burnham-On-Sea's hovercraft team on Saturday March 19th following a dramatic incident in the mud near the town's beach lighthouse. Craig Morgan from Coseley in the West Midlands was enjoying the unseasonally warm temperatures, jet skiing in Bridgwater Bay when he became stuck on a mud bank just off Gore Sands. He waded
in across the mud for almost an hour in order to attract help. With
the tide receding fast, a local lifeboat inspected the scene but was
unable to get close enough and the Burnham hovercraft was therefore
called out at 4:20pm.
The crew attached a buoy and anchor to the jet ski and, as the machine was stuck fast, they decided to leave it in the mud overnight. Two hours later, however, the incident took a twist when Mr Morgan attempted to drive out across the mud in his Vauxhall 4x4 to try and recover the jet ski himself - and the vehicle became stuck. "Shortly after 18:30 we got our second call of the evening when we were alerted that a 4x4 had became stuck in the mud near the lighthouse," said Alan Miller, Chairman of the Burnham-On-Sea hovercraft. "Our recovery tractor was immediately sent to the scene from Burnham and, using a combination of sand spades to anchor it and strong winch wire, we managed to free the vehicle." The jet ski was left in the mud overnight and was successfully floated off the mud bank at the next high tide on Sunday March 20th. Mr Morgan praised the hovercraft team, saying: "I'm very grateful to the hovercraft crew for their swift action. It could have been an incredibly depressing - and expensive - weekend but fortunately there was no damage to my jet ski or the 4x4." The incident is the second such call-out this year for the Burnham Hovercraft. On February 1st, the crew rescued a Mitsubishi Shogun from the mud near the town's lighthouse. RELATED LINKS:
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BURNHAM
COMMUNITY TOURISM
INFORMATION BURNHAM
TRAVEL
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Within
minutes, the team's three-seater craft - which is currently on trial
- flew
to the scene.