Teenagers saved after being trapped in quicksand at Nottinghamshire quarry

Officers used rope to help pull three teenagers out of the quicksand. Credit: Nottinghamshire Police.

Three teenagers have had their lives saved by police officers after becoming trapped in quicksand in a Nottinghamshire quarry.

The boys, who were believed to be out on a bike ride, called 999 after they were trapped waste-deep into the freezing sand.

It happened at the large quarry in Mansfield Woodhouse at around 6.30pm on Saturday (February 6).

One of the boys downloaded the What3Words app - a geo-locational tool used to pinpoint users’ exact locations - which helped guide four specialist officers to the scene.

PC Andy Crosby said: “Thanks to some great work by the control room team we were soon able to locate the boys in the dark using the What3Words app, which we all now have on our phones. That helped us get close enough to them to hear their shouts for help."

A geo-locational tool was used to help officers find the boys. Credit: ITV Central.

“None of them were appropriately dressed for the conditions and they’d already been stuck in the mud for around 45 minutes by the time we reached them."

Police used a rope and were supported by two members of the public who helped them to haul the boys out one by one.

The boys were treated at the scene by paramedics and one was taken to hospital as precaution.

None of them were injured during the incident and Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service also attended the scene.

PC Andy Crosby added: “I’ve been a police officer for the last 18 years but had never dealt with a situation like this. Given the weather conditions that night all three could have died if we’d not been able to find them."