'It was terrifying' - Pair get stuck in mud and cut off by tide near Lyme Regis

Two people have been rescued after getting stuck in the mud and cut off by the tide in Dorset.

Emergency services were called to Black Venn, between Charmouth and Lyme Regis, at around 5:30pm on Sunday 22 January.

Crews from Charmouth Fire Station, Lyme Regis Fire Station, Honiton Fire Station and a specialist water rescue crew from Exmouth Fire Station attended the scene.

Max Drinan, 32, and Sadie Solagnier, 29, were visiting Lyme Regis to celebrate his birthday.

They decided to head out for a Sunday evening walk, but were cut off by the incoming tide between the two beaches.

Sadie said: “It was terrifying. The water was up to my hips and we realised the tide was coming in.

"Max was up to his knees in water, but we could not reach each other. I think we were about six metres apart.

“But all the time we did not know how high the tide would be. It was so comforting to see people arriving to help us and, in particular, the lifeboat and the two lifeboat crew members who came to us and helped to calm us down.“Apart from this experience we loved our visit to Lyme Regis and we will be coming back again next year."

Initially rescue crews could not reach the stranded couple because of the rising tide, so HM Coastguard and the RNLI were drafted in.

Tim Edwards, helm of the Lyme Regis lifeboat said: “This was a great example of how our training helps, we had a multi-service challenge and everyone worked quickly and efficiently to recover the casualties during a rising tide.”