Hover rescue for man in mud

Nov 5 2007 by Caroline Innes, Liverpool Daily Post

A 75-YEAR-OLD man who had sunk to his waist in mud and was still sinking was rescued by the RNLI New Brighton Hovercraft crew.

The man had got into difficulties on mud banks at the entrance of the River Alt at around 1pm on Saturday.

Fire and rescue service personnel were on scene but, due to the conditions, they were having difficulty in getting him back to the shore.

Hovercraft comm-ander Paul Wright said: “When we arrived, the gentleman had been in the mud for some time and was cold and weak.

“We picked him up and had him back to the shore within minutes, where paramedics were waiting for him.”

Cliff Downing, RNLI New Brighton lifeboat operations manager, said: “The gentleman had got into real difficulties and the only way he could be accessed easily was by hovercraft.

“This is exactly the type of challenging conditions that our hovercraft crews are trained to deal with.

“I am pleased that we were able to respond to this request quickly.”

It is understood the man was later released from hospital.