Mud rescue at Osmington Mills

She was plucked to safety from the coast east of Weymouth in a large-scale night-time rescue operation which involved various agencies.

An onlooker - who praised the work of emergency teams - said the area of coast was treacherous following ongoing cliff falls.

Rescuers said the casualty was 'stuck up to their middle' in a 'precarious position' on the Jurassic Coast and was unable to free herself.

Coastguards, firefighters, police officers and paramedics were all involved in the rescue operation at Osmington Mills, beneath the Smugglers Inn car park last night.

All pictures: WYKE COASTGUARD RESCUE TEAM

A technical rescue by local firefighting teams who train for such events saw crews use a mud lance - injecting compressed air around the casualty making it easier to free them - before the woman was brought up the cliff on a stretcher by ropes.

The call came in just after 7.30pm and the operation went on until almost 10pm.

Wyke Coastguards and firefighters from Weymouth and Dorchester stations were involved. Bridport fire crews came over to Weymouth to provide stand-by cover.  

A spokesman for Wyke Coastguard said: "Reports had come in that a casualty had become trapped in mud trying to ascend from the beach to the Smugglers car park. Upon arrival at the car park two Wyke team members quickly made contact with the first informant who took them to the nearest safe vantage point to the casualty.

"The casualty had become trapped in clay up to their middle and were completely unable to free themselves.

"Being half way up the cliff, the safest access to the casualty was deemed by rope. Two team members descended to the cliff base to provide safety cover and lighting for the scene from below. Other units quickly arrived on scene, with specialist mud kit being provided by the fire service, which sent two crew by ropes to the casualty location to free them from the mud.

"The casualty was quickly freed from their precarious position and placed in a stretcher for recovery. The casualty was then taken to the cliff top to be examined by paramedics."

Kevan Sheehan, who lives close by, praised the work of emergency services and described the large-scale response.

“There were firefighters, coastguards and a dog handler – there must have been between 20 and 30 people helping,” he said.

“It was very tense - it must have taken a good hour or so for the person to be rescued.

“Ongoing cliff falls have made this area lethal – it has been lethal for some time.

“I was taking pictures of the incident on my phone to show the authorities that something needs to be done.

“Recent weather hasn’t helped the situation."

Mr Sheehan added: “It’s so treacherous down there (on the beach) – if it had been someone on their own (without assistance) they could have easily been sucked back in and would have disappeared into the mud.

“The emergency services were excellent."

Additional reporting by Ellie Maslin