COASTGUARDS and hovercraft crews from Burnham rehearsed the rescue of a person stuck in mud and seawater during a major training exercise on Sunday.

Burnham Coastguard and BARB Search and Rescue crews worked together to simulate the rescue of a person stuck on the mudflats at Berrow ahead of the busy summer holiday season.

A stretcher was used as a working platform on the mud to help release the ‘casualty’ before he was lifted onto BARB’s Spirit Of Lelaina hovercraft and flown to safety.

Burnham coastguard officer Dave Welland said: “It’s important that our crews are fully trained to carry out rescues in all types of challenging conditions, although we certainly hope no-one gets into difficulty this summer.”

BARB operations manager Mike Lowe added: “It was a very good training exercise in which the crews successfully showed close team-working.

“People can quickly get into difficulty on the mudflats so this exercise served as a timely reminder about the potential dangers.”

BARB carries out pro-active safety work throughout the year to reduce the risk of people getting into difficulty.

Its volunteers give out safety advice, hold educational talks, host visits and hold open days.