A FATHER and son were “covered head to toe in mud” on the coast in Brean before being taken to safety by hovercrafts.

The village’s beach warden raised the alarm after seeing the two men wading through thick mud next to Brean Down on Saturday, May 17.

Coastguards alerted Burnham’s BARB Search and Rescue, whose two hovercrafts happened to be in the area training at nearby Berrow beach.

The hovercrafts were ‘flown’ to the scene to check on the father and son, who were then taken onboard and flown back to the beach in conjunction with Burnham Coastguards.

Graham Hallsworth, BARB deputy operations manager, who led the operation, said: “The men were around half a mile from the shore and were covered head to toe in mud and moving very slowly so the beach warden was rightly concerned about their welfare.

“Fortunately, both our crafts were already in the area and we were able to quickly redeploy to help them.

“We worked with the coastguard to bring the pair back to the beach.”

The two men were checked over by coastguards and did not require medical attention.

Ian Jefferies, coastguard officer, said: “The incident serves as a timely warning about the potential dangers of wading across the mud to reach the sea. Our advice is always not to put yourself in danger.”

o BOTH Burnham RNLI lifeboats were launched at around 12.45pm on Sunday, May 18, to help a jet-skier who had become stranded on Steart Island.

The man was unharmed and his jet ski was recovered that evening.