Heswall mum and daughter feature on tonight's Saving Lives at Sea, BBC TWO, 8pm

By Mark Gorton

12th Oct 2021 | Local News

Earlier this year, Victoria Evans, known as 'Bunta' to her friends and family, and her daughter Charlie, were rescued from mud on Thurstaston Beach by Hoylake RNLI volunteers, as reported by Heswall Nub News.

This evening, their story is revisited by the BBC documentary series, Saving Lives at Sea, which follows the men and women of the Royal National Lifeboat institution as they go about their vital work.

Bunta, her husband Andy and daughter Charlie from Lower Heswall, were enjoying a walk with their puppy at Thurstaston Beach in February when Bunta and Charlie got stuck up to their waists in mud at the bottom of a cliff.

Although the family had checked the tides before heading out for a coastal walk, unbeknown to the three of them, a recent landslide had made the surrounding area hazardous, and the tide was rising.

Realising their predicament, Andy went for help.

The Hoylake RNLI crew along with Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and Crosby, Flint and Wirral Coastguard Rescue teams worked together to quickly free Bunta within minutes.

The pressure of the mud around Charlie's leg was causing her pain and she had to be carefully dug out by hand.

She was eventually extracted and put on board the RNLI hovercraft using the Coastguard's sled.

Bunta is a keen sailor in Anglesey and for many years has actively supported the RNLI both there and in Wirral.

She said: "There had been a significant landslip near the Dee Sailing Club slipway, so we had to walk through some of the mud on our way back. Charlie thought it looked drier higher up but after taking a couple of steps sank up to her thighs.

"I tried to get some pieces of wood to help her but of course I got stuck too. We struggled to dig ourselves out but seemed to sink even more and eventually a bystander called 999.

"I was freed quite quickly but it took five people to get my daughter out using air tanks and crawling boards. We were extremely thankful to see the RNLI and the hovercraft made short work of crossing the mud."

Bunta and Charlie, accompanied by two firefighters, were taken ashore and passed to the care of the North West Ambulance Service - and all, thankfully, was well.

You can watch the RNLI video of the rescue at the top of this page.

Saving Lives at Sea airs at 8pm on BBC TWO, and will be available on iPlayer.

     

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