Bore riders rescued from mudflats

Coxswain Geoff Dawe said water bike riders posed a danger to surfers

Four men attempting to ride the Severn Bore on their personal watercraft were rescued after becoming trapped in mud.

A team from the Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA) were called to Frampton Sands on Sunday afternoon.

The group could not be reached by lifeboat and a helicopter from RAF Chivenor in Devon was called in to airlift them to safety.

A two-hour search continued for a fifth man, who was later found to have scrambled ashore near Slimbridge.

Danger to surfers

His watercraft was later found washed up several miles away at Chepstow.

SARA coxswain Geoff Dawe said the men, all said to be in their 40s, had not realised the strength and swiftness of the tides.

He added that the lives of others were put at risk, not just their own.

"There's a major implication, that personal watercraft chasing the bore are a great danger to surfers," he said.

"They could make them fall off and run them down."

Hundreds of surfers and sightseers come to the River Severn to ride or watch the tidal waves, which can reach up to 2m (6ft).