Nineteen rescued from beach mud on hottest weekend

The RNLI and fire service warned people of the dangers of the mud on Weston-super-Mare's beach

Nineteen people stuck in dangerous beach mud flats at the weekend had to be rescued by emergency services, sparking a safety warning.

The incidents took place on the shoreline at Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, on the hottest weekend of the year so far.

Avon Fire and Rescue Service said it needed to use its hovercraft and called on RNLI support. The fire service said everyone was rescued safely and no injuries were reported.

In a statement, the RNLI at Weston-super-Mare said: "If you see anyone walking to the shoreline and towards the mud, please warn them of the dangers, you could save a life."

The RNLI's lifeboat crews were called to six mud flat rescues on Sunday. The mud appears on the shoreline at low tide.

The Weston-super-Mare Lifeboats RNLI Facebook page shared one of the accounts from a person rescued.

They said: "We waded through thigh deep mud for an hour and half to reach the sea. I just wasn't aware the dangers of doing that.

"We got to the sea and even though I was sinking I was thrilled the tide was coming in as I thought I could cool down and swim.

"I genuinely was not aware of the danger, it didn't even occur to me to call 999. I feel incredibly stupid.

"I can't thank the RNLI enough.

"I think it's really important to raise awareness."