DRAMA ON SALTMARSH AS MUD-STRANDED 57-YEAR-OLD FALLS VICTIM TO HYPOTHERMIA

                                                                        

Mud, mud, glorious mud - but not if you get stuck in it on a freezing January night. This is believed to be the spot where the man became stuck.

 A 57-year-old man is on the mend from hypothermia after becoming stranded on Cleethorpes saltmarsh for much of yesterday evening and last night.

According to one report, he set light to his jacket - either to keep warm or in the hope that the flames would alert a passer-by (or both).

The man, who has not been named, became stuck in mud after trying to take a short cut from the plank-camp structure on the outer beach to the leisure centre.

But this is a route that is deceptively treacherous - uneven, slippery  and criss-crossed by deep water-filled gullies.

Even in dry weather in summer, many are caught out and need rescuing.

Happily for this man, his cries for help were heard, shortly before 11pm, by a dog-walker who raised the alarm.

The Coastguard, the RNLI and other emergency services managed to trace the individual, but the quest took almost 90 minutes because it was dark and the shivering man had now fallen silent.

After spending the best part of 12 hours either on the beach or stuck in saltmarsh - with temperatures plummeting towards zero -  he was taken to Grimsby's Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital where, it is understood, he responded well to treatment.

The incident provided a reminder of the dangers of the saltmarsh and is likely to  prompt calls for warning signage to be prominently installed.                                       

These abandoned boots provide a reminder of a past incident