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May
31, 2005
Family of three rescued after failed bid
to cross River Axe
Coastguards
have rescued a family of three who foolishly tried wading across
the notorious River Axe estuary from Brean Down to Weston-super-Mare
after missing their last bus home.
 A
man (32), woman (28), and their son (7) were taken to Weston General
Hospital suffering from the early signs of hypothermia after getting
into difficulties in the thick mud on Saturday night, May 28.
"After
realising they had missed the last bus to Weston, from where they
intended to catch a train home to Bristol, they tried taking a
'short-cut' to Weston by crossing the River Axe at low tide,"
said Burnham-On-Sea Coastguard Officer Steve Bird.
"This
is a notoriously dangerous spot and has been the scene of many
incidents over the years. Consequently, they got stuck but fortunately
managed to wriggle their way partly back up the bank on the Brean
side. There, they called 999 on a mobile phone."
Members
of the Burnham-On-Sea Coastguard team led the search for the trio,
initially scouring the area from the top of Brean Down, before
conducting a search of the riverbank and finding the family in
the mud near a set of sluice gates.
"They
were all very cold and in need of warming up. The man was shivering,
bleary and could hardly speak. He was showing the early stages
of hypothermia," said Mr Bird.
Initial
response paramedics at the scene checked them over, before taking
them to Weston General for observation.
Mr
Bird added: "This is not an uncommon place for people to
try and cross the river, but it's incredibly dangerous.
"The
shore on the other side looks so close and the mud looks firm,
but anyone who walks on it sinks rapidly and gets stuck. The tide
also comes in very fast, so incidents here can quickly develop
into very serious situations."
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