BURNHAM’S rescue hovercraft saved a child stuck in mud at Brean and helped rescue another six people on a busy Saturday for the team.

One of the BARB Search and Rescue hovercrafts was initially launched at 3pm after a 10-year-old boy became stranded in deep mud while trying to reach the sea at low tide.

A beachwarden kept the boy calm from a safe distance until the hovercraft arrived a short time later.

The craft took two Weston Coastguard officers out to the boy, who was freed and flown back to the safety of the beach, unharmed.

The boy’s family were on holiday from Faringdon in Oxfordshire.

Mum Jemma Curtis said: “My son Callum was walking out across the beach with several of the family when he got stuck – it was a shock when I realised he was in difficulty.

“We are hugely grateful to BARB and the Coastguards for rescuing him.”

Then, just minutes after returning to Burnham at 4.30pm, BARB’s volunteers were called out for a second time.

This time, the crew was called to Weston-super-Mare to help Weston and Clevedon Coastguards investigate another person in dif- ficulty in the mud.

BARB’s hovercraft was taken by road to Weston and launched at Uphill beach where it travelled out to bring the person back to the safety.

It also assisted six people by flying them back from the mudflats as they waded out and tried to reach the incoming tide.

Weston Coastguard officer Chris Perks said: “It was a busy afternoon, we were on patrol when we were tasked to help someone who had become exhausted while walking out along the tideline.

“We called out BARB and their hovercraft was quickly on scene to bring back the casualty. We also tasked the fire service’s Firefly hovercraft to assist by reaching multiple people in the mud.”

He added: “Six people were taken onboard the hovercrafts and assisted back to the shore, including two young children, who were reunited with their parents. Our thanks go to the BARB volunteers for all their work.”

Just as the BARB crews returned to Burnham they were paged for a third time, at 6.40pm, after concerns about two people seen wading in the mud near the Burnham’s Yacht Club.

However, fortunately this time, they were found safe and well.

BARB is an independent charity run by a team of 20 volunteers in Burnham.

It operates two rescue hovercrafts and two inshore rescue boats which are funded entirely by donations from the public.