This latest news in from the council. Ed
The Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service is appealing for walkers to stick to footpaths after two members of the public had to be rescued from deep muddy water on Brading Marshes yesterday (Tuesday 13 December).
Fire crews were alerted to the incident at 10.53am on Tuesday after a women called the emergency services to report that her and a friend were stuck waist deep in muddy water.
The pair were unsure of their exact location so fire crews from Ryde and Sandown, along with a specialist water rescue crew from Newport, had to search a fairly significant area to locate the pair.
Could have been a very different outcome
Andy Cave, Station Manager at Ryde who was at the scene, said:
“Luckily the couple had a mobile phone with them and were able to alert the emergency services of their situation.
“If they weren’t able to call for help, the outcome could have been very different as at this time of year the ground can be saturated in places and with cold temperatures, hypothermia can quickly set in with severe consequences.
“We would like to encourage people to stick to public footpaths when out walking, let others know where you are planning to go and to take a mobile phone with you so that help can be called if needed.
“We receive several call outs each year to people stuck in mud, either along our coastline or inland so this is a timely reminder for people to take extra care while out walking this winter.”
Image: (not photo of IW walkers who were trapped) dgj103 under CC BY 2.0
