Published: August 8, 2011
Mudflats walker sparks alarm for Coastguards and hovercraft crews

A walker who was spotted by a beach warden struggling in mud a mile and a half from the shore at Berrow sparked a call-out for two rescue hovercrafts and a team of Coastguards from Burnham-On-Sea last evening (Monday, August 8th).

Both BARB's rescue hovercrafts were called to the scene, south of Berrow's beach wreck, at 7.11pm after the beach warden contacted Coastguards to alert them to the man's position.

Both The Spirit of Lelaina and Light Of Elizabeth hovercrafts were called to the scene, along with a team of Coastguards.

"The man was found some distance from the shore in a very cold state and was led back up the beach to safety. He was extremely lucky not to have got into more difficulty," Burnham Coastguard Officer Steve Bird told Burnham-On-Sea.com.

The 38 year-old man - who is from East Timor - was checked over at the scene and given safety advice by Coastguards.

BARB Operations Manager Mike Lowe said: "The beach warden did the right thing in contacting Coastguards as soon as there was any concern regarding the man's welfare. It could have turned out to be far more serious."

RELATED LINKS:

Official BARB Web site