Boys rescued after getting stuck in mud
Last updated 11:38, Tuesday, 13 May 2008
A MAJOR rescue operation was launched in the Solway Firth after two youths became stuck in sinking mud during a rising tide.
An RAF helicopter was scrambled along with a lifeboat from Burgh-by-Sands, the Nith Inshore Rescue Boat and Annan Coastguard Unit when the quad bikers got into difficulty, just after 6pm yesterday.
But before they reached the scene, at Newbie, near Annan, family members of the boys managed to reach and pull them to safety and took them back to shore.
It is understood that the youths had got off the bikes they were riding and were almost up to their armpits in the potentially lethal mud as the tide moved in.
The incident today prompted a safety warning for people to take care when venturing out on to the notoriously treacherous Solway sands and beware of soft, sinking conditions further out.
A Liverpool Coastguard spokesman said: “The two lads were very lucky. It could have been a lot worse. There could have been more problems if their family members had got themselves stuck as well.
“Be careful if going out on to the sands, especially during a rising tide.”
A number of quad and motorbike riders have been seen riding along the Solway coastline during the recent good weather.
