A NEW Brighton man had to be rescued after finding himself waist deep in quicksand after he tried to rescue his dog - writes Craig Manning.

Tom Walker, 28, was walking the dog on the beach at the bottom of Dalmorton Road in New Brighton shortly before 4pm on Saturday when the animal ran off. He gave chase after it but within minutes found himself trapped up to his waist in mud.

Onlookers raised the alarm and coastguards, fire brigade and police were soon on the scene.

A group of cocklers working on the beach advised the rescuers where the safest place was to work.

A fireman was then able to throw Mr Walker a rope, which he managed to grab. He then pulled himself free from the quicksand and crawled along the beach to safety.

The dog was safe and well.

A Merseyside fire service spokesman said crews had been called to three rescues on mudflats within the last nine months.

"There was a happy ending this time and the man was extremely lucky to escape, but had the incident took place later on the situation could have been a lot worse," said the spokesman.

"Staff from Wallasey Fire Station have now been trained in sandbank rescue, which shows that there is a problem with people getting stuck in sandbanks in Wirral."