Published: May 26, 2007
Workman pulls elderly pair from mud on Burnham-On-Sea beach

Two elderly people from Glastonbury who were briefly trapped in mud on Burnham-On-Sea beach on Thursday afternoon (May 24th) were helped free by a workman.

Joy Taylor was walking along the beach between the town's jetty and yacht club, pictured, with her husband Bill, 75, and their friend Alan Vine, 75, when he decided to walk onto the sand near the pilot hut.

"He wandered on to a patch of soft sand and within moments had sunk up to his knees in mud. As he tried to get out, he sank down further. It was all so quick and sudden," Joy told Burnham-On-Sea.com.

"Alan went in to help him and he became stuck too. We didn't have time to call the Coastguard or raise the alarm, but fortunately a workman who was in the area saw what was happening and placed several wooden boards onto the mud to get out to them and help them back."

"We hadn't realised it was so potentially dangerous there. It takes you without warning."

"Unfortunately, we never got the name or contact details of the workman, but would like to say a big thank you to him for helping us."

The story serves as another reminder about the dangers of soft sand and mud on Somerset's coastline.

BARB, the charity that runs Burnham's rescue hovercraft, is holding a Beach Safety Awareness Day on Sunday (May 27th) where beach users can find out more.