A TEN-year-old boy prompted a full-scale rescue at a Christchurch beach after getting stuck fast in treacherous mud.

The youngster, who was trapped up to his waist, got into difficulties at Chewton Bunny, near Highcliffe, during a family outing.

He became stuck fast in a mud bank, contained in the cliff debris which has recently slumped onto the beach.

Firefighters used specialist rescue techniques before digging him out and reuniting him with his worried parents.

Despite his half-hour ordeal, the youngster was uninjured and allowed to go home after paramedics checked him over.

Fire station manager Neil Ricketts, of Dorset Fire and Rescue Service, said: “There is always a risk of crush injuries or of hypothermia setting in, so the boy was quite lucky.

“He was getting cold, so we wrapped him in a space blanket, but otherwise he was fine.”

Coastguard officers also attended the drama, which unfolded from around 2pm on Saturday.

Firefighters from Poole and the specialist water rescue team from Christchurch fire station answered the emergency call.

Mr Ricketts said: “People do get trapped in the mud every year, especially when there has been a recent cliff slump.”