Coastguards were called into action after a man became stuck in mud. 

The West Bay Coastguard team was paged just after 5pm on Sunday to support Lyme Regis coastguard at Charmouth Beach.

The casualty was reported to be stuck in a mud flow one mile to the east of Charmouth with the incoming tide only two to three feet away from his position.

The RNLI Inshore Lifeboat (ILB) based at Lyme Regis had also been tasked and was preparing to take Lyme Coastguard officers and mud rescue equipment directly to the incident site.

Seven rescue officers from West Bay including the teams station officer and deputy station officer quickly responded to the station, picked up their equipment and the teams rescue vehicle and headed for Charmouth.

Whilst en-route to the scene, an update was received saying that the casualty had managed to self recover and was back at Charmouth with coastguard officers.

The lifeboat and West Bay Coastguard were then stood down to return to station.

A spokesman for West Bay Coastguards said: "The Charmouth area is renowned for walking and for finding fossils which can be located in the soft cliffs, clay and mud.

"The area is also prone to cliff falls, mud slides and contains area's of deep mud that pose a danger to walkers, fossil hunters and dogs.

"Coastguard advice remains very clear.

"Do not climb on the cliffs, mudflows or on rock falls.
"You could be putting your life and the lives of those around you at risk.

"If you do become stuck in the mud do not panic, try to spread your weight as much as possible, avoid moving and stay as calm as you can.

"If you have a mobile phone dial 999 and ask for the coastguard who will send a specially trained mud rescue team.

"Discourage others from attempting to rescue you, since without the proper training and equipment they could become stuck too."