Man trapped in sand as hole he dug collapses on Newquay beach

A man had to be rescued after a hole he had dug on Fistral beach in Newquay collapsed on top of him.

Police, fire crews, lifeguards, among other services and other beachgoers, rushed to his aid. When the man was located, he was fully submerged under the sand.

However, the emergency response was quickly able to get his head clear so he could breathe, and after an hour of digging, he was eventually freed.

Lead Supervisor for Newquay RNLI, Lewis Timson, urged people to take extra care when digging holes and to supervise children.

"And the compression from the weight of the sand exacerbate the situation, so we can't stress enough how dangerous digging deep holes in the sand can be.

The incident comes just days after the fire service warned against digging large holes on beaches because of the risks they pose.

In its warning, Exmouth Fire Station said: "Digging holes might be a classic beach activity for young children, but some of the holes we have seen are so deep they are definitely not dug by kids.

"These holes are a massive risk to both the people digging them and anyone unfortunate enough to accidentally fall down one."