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| The saltmarsh - a dangerous place, especially after dark in winter |
A 57-year-old man is today recovering from hypothermia after becoming stranded on a saltmarsh noted for its over-wintering wading birds such as curlew, redshank and snipe.
It is not known if he is a birder, but he spent much of yesterday evening and last night stuck in mud at Cleethorpes in Lincolnshire.
In desperation, 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 resort's outer beach outer beach to the leisure centre car park.
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 has 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.
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| The fringe of the saltmarsh looking over to Cleethorpes - a popular holiday resort |
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| Curlew - the species is conspicuous in winter |
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| Redshank - fairly commonly seen on the marsh |
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| The numerous creeks can be tricky - especially when fall of water |
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