Four children rescued from Wrabness mudflats as tide comes in
- Published
The 12-year-olds became trapped in mud at Wrabness, near Harwich
Four children have been rescued after getting stuck in mud on the coast.
Three girls and a boy, all aged 12, were trapped at Wrabness, near Harwich, Essex, at about 18:45 GMT on Tuesday as the tide came in, police said.
Two were freed by police officers and the others were rescued by the coastguard's helicopter by 22:05. They were taken to hospital for checks.
Police praised one of the girls, Tily, for her "calm and composed" 999 call which led to them being located.
Tily reported that she and her friends were lost on the beach between Copperas Wood, Wrabness and Parkeston.
Essex Police said the children were "located swiftly"
Sgt Aaron Heard said: "She didn't know exactly where she was but she was scared they were going to get stranded because the water was coming in, it was getting dark and they couldn't get back to the land.
"She told us she only had 2% battery on her phone so we had very limited time to speak to her. That 2% has literally saved their lives."
Sgt Heard said Tily gave police "all the information she could", eventually leading them to her and another girl she was with.
He said the pair could still move but were "covered head-to-toe in clay and mud".
Tily, of whom Sgt Heard said "considering how scared she was, she was brilliant", then gave police "as much detail as she could" of the rough location of another two children who were "a lot further out".
Police managed to locate the others about 500m (1,640ft) out in the estuary and remained with them until the coastguard winched them out.
Tily's father said he was "proud" of his daughter
Tily's father said: "I'm proud of my daughter for keeping calm on the phone. I know she would have been worried.
"I took her to hospital to check for a sprain to her ankle, however she's fine and has taken the day off school to recover.
"She we will be back to her studies tomorrow."
Essex Fire and Rescue Service has urged people to avoid "playing in or near any water at night, even if the tide is out".
"The associated dangers can happen quickly and without warning," Dovercourt fire station manager Quentin Sage said.