Coastguard issues warning to holidaymakers to avoid digging huge holes

Coastguard issues urgent warning to holidaymakers to avoid digging huge holes at the beach after boy, 14, was nearly buried alive when sand collapsed on top of him in Easter weekend horror

• Boy had been standing in a hole when sand collapsed, nearly suffocating him 
• ***Do YOU know the parents of the boy? Email [email protected]

A coastguard has issued a warning to holidaymakers to stop digging huge holes, after a young boy nearly died when his sandy excavation collapsed on him.

The 14-year-old was standing up in the hole when it crumbled at his feet at 12.45pm on Saturday in Anderby Creek, near Skegness, in Lincolnshire.

It was the actions of his quick-thinking parents who saved him by frantically digging handfuls of sand away.

Lucy Hicks, Senior Maritime Operations Officer for HM Coastguard, said: ‘The teenager was extremely lucky, if the tide had been coming in or the hole was just a little bit larger there could have been a very different outcome.

‘Sand by nature is notoriously unstable once you disturb it, we’re not telling people they shouldn’t build sand castles or dig holes.

The boy’s parents prevented him from suffocating as 999 workers raced to the scene in Anderby Creek, near Skegness, in Lincolnshire

‘Just please consider size and location of the hole, the larger it is the higher the chances it may collapse.

‘We love the beach and want people to enjoy their time when visiting, but you have to think if it took you two hours to dig a hole that’s how long it can take for someone to dig you out.’

Only the 14-year-old boy’s head was visible after he was trapped up to the neck in the Bank Holiday horror.

Experts warned, had he been lying down, the incident could have ended in tragedy.

It took coastguard rescue teams and fire fighters more than an hour to dig him out because of fears the sand could collapse completely.

Rescuers said the 14-year-old was standing up in the hole when it collapsed beneath him

Fran Wilkins, HM Coastguard senior coastal operations officer, said: ‘It needed lots of people in a coordinated effort to remove the sand in a way that we could get him out of the hole as quickly and as safely as possible.

‘Luckily, he did remain calm throughout which definitely helped reduce the panic and allowed everyone to get to work and do their job.’

She praised his parents for keeping the sand out of his mouth and calling for help.

‘There’s that instinct to keep trying to dig, but the more you disturb and weaken that sand that has collapsed in, you’re potentially going to create a much bigger hole.

‘They kept his head clear and his mouth and nose free so he could breathe and waited for more to help which was really, really important for him.’

She warned beachgoers to consider the size and location of the hole and be mindful that ‘the larger it is the higher the chances it may collapse’.

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