Woman trapped in mud rescued at Brean beach

A hovercraft and two lifeboats were used in the rescue

A woman was rescued "with minutes to spare" after becoming trapped in mud up to her waist at a beach in Somerset.

The coastguard service said she was in "imminent danger" at Brean on Wednesday morning as the tide rose, with the water up to her neck.

Crews from Burnham-On-Sea coastguard, the RNLI and BARB Search & Rescue assisted in the operation.

The woman was wrapped in a blanket before being assessed by paramedics.

A hovercraft and two lifeboats were used in the rescue, in which two crew members attached to floating lines entered the water to reach the woman.

They worked together to hold her up above the water while they freed both her legs before bringing her back to shore.

The rescue has been described as an "incredibly time-critical incident"

A Burnham coastguard spokesman said: "Our team was first on scene and as we entered the beach we could see directly in front of us the head and shoulders of the woman sticking up above the water as the constant waves made it challenging to keep her face out of the water.

"This was an incredibly time-critical incident with a real danger to life.

"The quick actions of all the coastguard team members meant that she was saved with just a few minutes to spare."