Family saved from yacht in mud-bank

A LIFEBOAT crewman had to wade through 80 feet of thick deep mud to rescue a family whose yacht got stuck on a mud-bank at the weekend.

He then hatched an ingenious plan to use five body boards on the stricken vessel like stepping-stones to help the family cross the mud-bank to safety.

The drama unfolded in the river Ilen in Skibbereen, Co Cork, on Saturday night. The alarm was raised at 8pm when a family motor boat, with a father and two children on board, became stranded on the mud as the tide went out.