Emergency services scrambled to rescue people stuck in the mud near Charmouth.

Three coastguard crews and the Lyme Regis RNLI were called out to help rescue two people stuck in the mud who then alerted them of a further group of people who had been cut off by the tide.

Teams from Lyme Regis Coastguard, West Bay Coastguard and Beer Coastguard were called out on Sunday, March 10, shortly after 4.30pm to multiple people in difficulty on Black Ven who had become stuck in the mud.

Upon arrival the first person had been freed from mud by a family member.

Lyme Regis RNLI subsequently launched their inshore lifeboat following a request from HM Coastguard to search for people reported to be cut off by the rising spring tide.

An additional concern was that one of the people was trapped in mud.

The crew was quickly on scene and completed a shoreline search during which they contacted a man and woman walking towards Charmouth.

The couple confirmed that it was them who had raised the alarm, but they had managed to extract themselves from the mud and were now safe, well and in no need of assistance. 

However, the couple informed the lifeboat crew that they had seen four other people on the beach closer to Lyme Regis who they believed may have been in danger of being cut off.

Once the lifeboat had reached the reported location, two of the four volunteer crew members swam ashore to locate the reported walkers.

They found the group of four safe and well on higher ground part way up the cliff and having confirmed that the group was in no danger and was intending to spend the evening in their current position, the two RNLI crew swam back to the lifeboat which returned to Lyme Regis harbour at 5:20 pm.

Volunteer lifeboat helm Jon Broome said: “It was relatively easy to find the reported casualties in today’s conditions which were a light south westerly wind and smooth sea state.

“They did well to extract themselves from the sticky mud in this area which can be very dangerous. We are grateful to them for alerting us to the possibility of other casualties along the coast.”

The RNLI advises that walkers and fossil hunters take great care when walking along this stretch of the coast.

Frequent land slips and cliff falls cause the beach to narrow increasing the likelihood of becoming cut off by the rising tide.

Walkers should never attempt to climb cliff falls or mud slides as these are generally unstable and very dangerous.