Coastguards' fears over 'lethal' mudflats

The Bristol Channel-based rescue services were involved in two rescue attempts over the weekend.

Safety in the area has been under scrutiny since the death of Lelaina Hall in July.

Lelaina became stranded by in-coming waters during a day on the beach at the Somerset resort. She was airlifted to hospital in Weston-super-Mare but died hours later.

'Mild hypothermia'

On Monday Malcolm Tanner of Burnham Area Rescue said: "We had a call from the coastguard this morning.

"We had two men stuck in the mud at Berrow. We launched our lifeboat, but by the time we got there, luckily, they had managed to struggle and get themselves out of the mud.

"On Friday three children got stuck in the mud at Stolford.

"The helicopter came in and lifted them out. They had to take them to hospital, because one of them was suffering from mild hypothermia.

"This area is so dangerous because if people go beyond the beach area, the problem is that the mud in the sand dries out when the tide goes out.

"This creates a crust over the top of this mud and the problem then is that you don't see the water coming in.

"It comes in under the sand and the minute that crust is broken you are then walking in mud and you could be 20 or 30 feet in mud and struggling to get out."