A MUM has told of her terror as she frantically tried to pull her sinking son out of waist-deep mud on a Dorset beach.
Schoolboy Callum Currie, 10, was visiting Charmouth Beach with his family when he became stuck in mud that was caused by a landslide.
A team of eight coastguards worked for half an hour to pull the youngster to safety using water and air to free him.
Paramedics, police officers and firefighters were also called to the incident.
Callum’s mum Amanda Currie said she, her partner Andrew Bowkett and Callum were out looking for fossils on the beach when a woman came running up to her.
She added: “The woman told me ‘your son is up to his waist in mud’ and I went running back.
“My worst fear was that he was going to sink further.
“I was thinking ‘just how deep is it’ and ‘how me and my partner were going to get him out’.”
A woman on the beach raised the alarm at the beachside café and the coastguards were called.
They kept Mrs Currie, Mr Bowkett and others away from the scene because of concern about more people sinking in the mud.
Mrs Currie, 43, said: “The coastguards used body-stretchers to reach Callum and a pool of water in the mud which was attached to a cylinder.
“They dragged him along for a bit and were able to pull him free.
“From start to finish the rescue took half an hour.”
Mrs Currie said Callum was recovering well after the drama on Saturday afternoon.
She said: “He’s absolutely fine and he handled it all really well.
“There was a brief moment when he panicked but he remained calm despite being in the mud for an hour.
“He was caked in mud and very cold when he came out and a bit shaken, but I was amazed that he was so resilient.”
Mrs Currie, of Sidmouth, Devon, was full of praise for Callum’s rescuers.
She said: “They were brilliant and they were all so sweet and made sure he was all right and that I was.”
New signs were placed at Charmouth Beach in April last year warning about mudflows following a series of incidents of people getting trapped.
Mrs Currie added: “There aren’t enough warning signs for people. There were two signs missing that had been there before. I asked the coastguard why there isn’t a sign at the beginning of the beach warning people about thick mud.
“If it had been a smaller child in there it could have gone up to their neck.”
A Portland Coastguard spokeswoman said the team of coastguards used specialist mud rescue equipment consisting of a harness and water and air to extract Callum from the mud.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel