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Published:
July 9, 2011
In
photos: Three men spark mud rescue drama next to Brean Down
Three people stuck in mud in the River Axe estuary next to
Brean Down sparked a rescue bid by Coastguards from Burnham-On-Sea
and Weston on Saturday evening (July 9th).
 One
of the three men - who is circled above - was stuck waist-deep
in mud while making an attempt to cross the treacherous river
from Weston to Brean.
Two teams of Coastguards from Burnham and Weston were called
to the scene at 8pm on the north side of the river to locate the
trio after walkers on Brean Down reported hearing calls for help.
A police helicopter was also called in to locate the trio and
the men eventually struggled back to shore where they were met
by police and paramedics. Burnham-On-Sea's rescue hovercraft was
also ready to fly to the scene.
Burnham Coastguard Office Steve Bird told Burnham-On-Sea.com:
"Under no circumstances should anyone ever try to cross this
river estuary. We received three 999 calls tonight from concerned
walkers who saw the three men in the mud and, while no-one was
injured this time, we could easily have seen a tragic ending."
One of the men could be seen struggling waist-deep in the mud
Burnham Coastguards sent its mud rescue team along the river
banks
Another Burnham Coastguard viewed the casualties from the top
of Brean Down
A police helicopter flew above the men to monitor their progress
The men eventually managed to wade back across the mud to the
shore
One was completely covered in mud from head to foot, as pictured
here
They were met by police and ambulance teams on Uphill beach
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