COASTGUARDS were called to rescue a girl who was stuck in mud for an hour on a west Dorset cliff.

Officers from Lyme Regis and West Bay coastguard teams were called to Charmouth Beach at just after 12pm on Friday (19).

A HM Coastguard spokeswoman said: "We received a call from a member of the public, reporting that a person had one leg stuck up to the thigh in mud.

"The teams managed to free the person after an hour and the person was taken back to the heritage centre to warm up.

"The person was treated by the ambulance service, but did not need further medical treatment."

Alison Ferris, warden at Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre, said: “As far as I know, a young girl climbed up on the cliff and got stuck in the mud. She couldn’t have been any older than in her mid to late teens.

“She did not go to hospital, but an ambulance was called out and checked her over for hyperthermia. When she came into the heritage centre, she was absolutely covered in mud, so it was probably best that she was checked over.

“I do not know how she climbed up. It didn’t look like the rest of her family got stuck. She was possibly looking for fossils and ended up being very, very muddy.”

Ms Ferris has advised walkers and fossil hunters to ask wardens at the heritage centre for advice and take notice of safety warnings around the coast.

She added: “If fossil hunters are in Charmouth, that is why our centre is here.

“I would advise people to just take five minutes looking at the safety notices and seeing where it is safe to go.

“We are always happy to help people who are not sure and there are quite a lot of obviously warning signs down there.”

South Western Ambulance Service confirmed a patient was treated at the scene.

A spokeswoman said: "We got a call at just after 1pm following reports a female had got stuck in some mud in the area.

"We sent a rapid response vehicle and an ambulance crew. The patient was treated at the scene."

On Monday, coastguards issued a warning after a fossil hunter put himself at risk climbing a clay cliff in West Bay.

A spokesperson for West Bay Coastguard, said: "It goes without saying that climbing the cliffs around our coastline poses a very real danger to life and you have to ask yourself, 'Is it really worth risking your life, the lives of your rescuers and those around you to collect a fossil?"