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Published:
August 26, 2007
Lifeboat
and hovercraft crews help rescue stranded autistic girl
Burnham-On-Sea's
lifeboat and hovercraft crews rushed to Brean on Sunday afternoon
(August 26th) after an autistic teenager became stranded on the
mudflats.
 With
the tide coming in at the time, the RNLI's D-Class lifeboat, called
Puffin, was launched (pictured) as a precaution.
And
BARB's Spirit Of Lelaina hovercraft was also called out by Coastguards.
It
came after the girl's carers alerted a beach warden to her being
"panic-struck" in knee-deep mud.
Two members of Burnham's Coastguard Mud Rescue Team waded out
to comfort the distressed girl, who was several hundred yards
from the safety of the beach.
The hovercraft then plucked her from the mud and flew her back
to the shore where she was met by her relieved carers.
Carer Sarah Day, from Stroud in Gloucestershire, explained: "We'd
been walking out across the beach when she just began sinking
into the mud."
"She was struck with panic and we didn't want her to move
and risk getting into further difficulty, so we alerted the beach
warden, who in turn contacted Coastguards and the hovercraft."
She added: "I am very grateful that everyone acted so quickly
and treated her in such a calm way."
RELATED
LINKS:
Burnham-On-Sea
RNLI
Burnham-On-Sea Hovercraft
Official Web site
BBC Online coverage of this incident
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