4×4 is submerged by incoming tide after getting stuck on beach despite desperate attempts to free it

• Paul Redfern had driven Vauxhall Frontera down Brean Beach in Somerset
  
• Car became stranded when its wheels got stuck in the soft sand and mud
  
• Conditions made it impossible for other vehicles to be able to pull it free
• Ropes, spades and wooden boards were used to try and free the vehicle
• But it couldn’t be recovered before the incoming tide reached it yesterday

By Mark Duell

Published: 10:37, 16 July 2014

A father watched in horror as his 4×4 was engulfed by the sea after it became stuck on a beach.

Paul Redfern, of Bristol, had driven his 13-year-old Vauxhall Frontera half a mile down Brean Beach in Somerset when its wheels got stuck in the soft sand and mud, leaving it stranded.

Parts of the Bristol Channel including Brean experience the second highest tidal range in the world, with sea retreating more than a mile at times – exposing a series of treacherous mudflats.

Lost in the sea: The Vauxhall Frontera’s wheels got stuck in the soft sand and mud, leaving it stranded

Saying goodbye: Paul Redfern had driven his 13-year-old car half a mile down Brean Beach in Somerset

Danger: Parts of the Bristol Channel including Brean experience the second highest tidal range in the world

Engulfed by the tide: Ropes, spades and wooden boards were used to try and free the Vauxhall vehicle

Brean’s beachwarden raised the alarm and a team from Burnham Area Rescue Boat (Barb) Search and Rescue was quickly on the scene.

But the soft sand around the car made it impossible for other vehicles to get close enough to pull it free. A JCB digger and two trucks were forced to turn back due to the conditions.

Ropes, spades and wooden boards were used to try and free the Cardiff-registered vehicle, but it could not be recovered before the incoming tide reached it – and then completely engulfed it.

Mr Redfern said: ‘I am very grateful for the efforts of everyone – it is gutting that we couldn’t get it out in time but I do thank them for trying.

The moment 4×4 is submerged by incoming tide

Not coming out: A JCB digger and two trucks were forced to turn back due to the conditions on the beach

Gone: The soft sand around the car made it impossible for other vehicles to get close enough to pull it free

‘I’d just been driving along the beach with my daughter enjoying the sunshine and didn’t think I could get stuck.’

‘I am very grateful for the efforts of everyone – it is gutting that we couldn’t get it out in time but I do thank them for trying’

Paul Redfern

Barb operations manager Mike Lowe said: ‘It’s a great shame that on this occasion we were unable to recover the vehicle despite the best efforts of our crew. It’s another reminder that people should take care while enjoying our beaches over the summer.’

A Barb spokesman added: ‘Strong onshore winds made the tide come in more quickly. We arrived on scene at 6.45pm and the vehicle was completely submerged by 7.30pm.’

Yesterday’s incident comes just days after a Ford Focus Estate got stuck in the sea.

A car was also rescued on April 13 and a separate incident occurred on March 9 when a tractor pulled a stranded car from the mud. There was a further incident on April 20 when a family’s vehicle got into difficulty and another car also got stuck on May 27.