A woman trapped in sand on a North Wales beach was saved by a lifeboat as the tide came in around her.
The unnamed beachgoer became stuck on Rhyl beach after sinking into sands more than 300 yards off the coast on Friday evening.
A lifeboat crew said the tide had risen to the woman’s waist by the time their boat arrived around 9pm, at which point they gave her a life jacket and rolled the woman on to her back.
That helped her feet out of the sand and she was helped into the lifeboat before being brought back to the RNLI station for a check-up.
An RNLI Rhyl spokesperson said: ‘The inshore lifeboat was launched within minutes. Once arrived on scene, the crew found the casualty to be trapped in the sand with the incoming tide now around their waist.
‘The lifeboat was brought alongside the casualty and crew put them in a lifejacket. A crewmember supported the casualty on their back, which popped their feet out of the sand.
‘The casualty was recovered into the inshore lifeboat, and brought back to the lifeboat station for a check-over and warm up. Rhyl Coastguard Rescue Team was also tasked to the incident.’
After the RNLI posted about the rescue on Facebook, a woman commented: ‘Thank you very much for helping my daughter.’
A terrified beachgoer has been saved after becoming trapped in sinking sands at Rhyl beach, North Wales
Her feet were trapped in sinking sands more than 300 yards off the coast as the tide raced in around her
Another commenter, Dawn Smart, added: ‘Thank you so very much for saving a very special lady.’
Anyone stuck in soft sand is advised to remain calm and not struggle as this can worsen the problem.
While leaning back to distribute your weight, gently wiggling your legs can let water loosen the sand’s suction.
RNLI Holyhead Lifeboat Station said: ‘We’d like to remind everyone to be aware of the tides and layout of our local waters – it can be very difficult to judge the depth of water in certain locations.’
