‘Stay away’ plea as quicksand develops along Yorkshire coast

Coastguards received a 999 call on Saturday afternoon from a woman whose mother became stuck after venturing on to mud on a beach between Whitby and Sandsend.

As the daughter tried to free her mother, she too got into difficulty, a Humber Coastguard spokesman said.

A family of four also was temporarily stuck.

The incident took place near to Whitby Golf Club at the Upgang area which is historically prone to landslips.

The quagmire measured about 100 yards and was made worse because the camouflaged mud from the landslip blended in with the sand.

Rescuers say it could potentially have been disastrous due to the higher than average spring tides washing in and the mud patch being below the water line.

Coastguard Watch Manager for the East Coast, Mike Puplett, warned the area could remain unstable because of the heavy rain in recent weeks and urged people to keep away from both the cliff top and the beach.

“We are urging people not to go wandering on the beach in this area because it is potentially dangerous”, he said.

“The wet conditions on the cliffs, coupled with the tides below create a hazardous situation.”

Yesterday, engineers from Scarborough Council carried out an assessment of the scene of the landslip.

In recent years, extensive engineering works have been carried out on the cliffs following a number of landslides.