Whitstable RNLI assist with Mud Rescue on Sheppey

Launching at 2.32pm the station’s B-Class lifeboat Lewisco arrived ‘on scene’ 10-minutes later to find that the casualties had been helped from the mud prior to the arrival of the lifeboat.

Helm Dave Parry said “When we arrived at the scene two people had already been extracted from the mud by the coastguard, Kent Fire and Rescue and the police they were in the process of digging out a third person”.

'As the casualties were cold, shaken and had lost shoes and socks in the mud

and although they were well above high water mark it was considered that the best way to return them to safer ground was to use the lifeboat. They were landed ashore to the promenade at the end of Warden Bay, where further members of the coastguard team were waiting. They were checked over by an ambulance crew but there were no injuries to any of the trio or their dog”.

“This area of the Sheppey coast is formed of considerable areas of soft clay and popular with fossil hunters which was the activity the group were engaged in and, it is worth remembering that people taking part in such activities should be aware of the difficult conditions”.

"On arrival back at the lifeboat station our shore crew had an epic task in cleaning down the boat and crew. Very often our shore crew are the unsung heroes of a service, spending considerable time in preparing the boat for its next call”.

Writing on the Sheppey Coastguard Facebook page James Meader said “This was my mum, son, dog and me. I cannot begin to say how grateful we all are for the rescue teams that attended today”.

“We’ve been there several times but my mum came for the first time and got trapped trying to get back to the car park which lead to the rest of us also being trapped trying to help her”.

“In hindsight we should have stayed by the water and called sooner but my mum was screaming for help and panic got the better of my judgement which lead to a worse situation”

“The mud there looks dry and safe, even in the pictures I took when I managed to get to safety but it’s so dangerous underneath with the water trickling down from the cliff top. I lost my trainers, socks and joggers but that is a small price to pay for my family’s safety”.

“God bless all the emergency services we are very fortunate to have people doing these jobs”.

Notes to editors

• Whitstable RNLI Lifeboat Station was established in 1963 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and is one of 237 lifeboat stations around the shores of the UK and Ireland. The volunteer crews provide a maritime search and rescue service for the Kent coast. They cover the area between the Kingsferry Bridge on the Swale, in the west, around the south-eastern side of Sheppey and along the coast through Whitstable and Herne Bay to Reculver in the east and outwards into the Thames Estuary.

• The station is equipped with an Atlantic 85 lifeboat named Lewisco, purchased through a bequest of a Miss Lewis of London who passed away in 2006.

• She is what is known as a rigid inflatable inshore lifeboat, the boat’s rigid hull being topped by an inflatable sponson. She carries a crew of four people.

  • RNLI media contacts

  • Chris Davey, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, Whitstable Lifeboat Station.
    07741 012004/ [email protected]

  • Julie Rainey - Regional Communications Lead : 07827 358256

  • Jess Curtis, Regional Communications Manager. Mob: 07483 488243| Email: [email protected]

For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer on 01202 336789

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,700 lives.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.