Quicksand around the UK (Picture: Metro)
If the weather ever perks up, you might think about hitting the beach – but after a woman’s tale of falling into quicksand went viral, it’s worth knowing where to look out for the hidden danger.
Jamie Acord was walking along the coast with her husband in Phippsburg, Maine, when she suddenly dropped into waist-deep quicksand, unable to escape.
And while her story happened on the other side of the Atlantic, closer to home quicksand has also caught out Brits on the beach.
Here’s where to look out for quicksand on our very own shores…
Where is quicksand most common in the UK?
The most notorious spot is Cumbria’s windswept Morecambe Bay, where just last month a dog became stuck in quicksand for over an hour.
Visitors to the bay are greeted by warning notices, highlighting the danger of not only the quicksand, but also fast-rising tides and hidden channels.
At the opposite end of the country, in Essex, the famous Broomway is known as Britain’s deadliest path. Crossing both sand flats and mud flats, it has claimed more than one hundred lives over the centuries – although not all due to its sinking sands. Rushing tides and strong currents are far more perilous.
People don’t really become submerged by quicksand (Picture: Getty/iStockphoto)
In fact, despite what Hollywood would like us to believe, quicksand itself is not deadly – people don’t get sucked beneath its surface and drown or suffocate.
What is quicksand?
Quicksand is formed when sand becomes saturated, forming a gloopy soup that behaves like a liquid – meaning it can’t support the weight of a person if they stand on it.
And like water, people will naturally float on top of it, meaning they won’t keep sinking until out of sight, even if it is a particularly deep patch.
What to do if you’re stuck in quicksand
If you do find yourself in quicksand, first of all, don’t panic – it’s easy to become exhausted while trying to escape.
His Majesty’s Coastguard HMC recommends that anyone who is stuck sits back to spread their weight evenly across the surface. If you can’t ‘swim’ out once on top, call 999 immediately and ask for the Coastguard.
And as difficult as it may be, HMC says stop others from trying to help you, as they may get stuck too.
Take note of quicksand warnings (Picture: Getty)
Quicksand can be hard to spot. The HMC adds: ‘Avoid crossing estuaries and walking through mud where there can be hidden channels of fast-flowing water.’
Sometimes there may be the telltale sign of water bubbling up through the sand, or ripples on the surface, but often you won’t see it till you’re in it.
Instead, the real danger of quicksand is where it often forms, on wide bays and estuaries which have very fast tides.
Once you’re in quicksand, it’s incredibly difficult to get out without help. Most quicksand deaths are as a result of drowning while stuck as the sea level rises, rather than from the quicksand itself.
Thankfully, quicksand around the rest of the UK is not that common, but under the right conditions, can form anywhere – typically on beaches and tidal flats.
In recent years, patches of quicksand have also caught out people in Cornwall, Glamorgan, Pembrokeshire and Aberdeenshire.