RESCUERS raced against the tide to save a woman who got stuck in the mud at Chewton Bunny.

Firefighters, the RNLI and the Coastguard were called to the scene off Christchurch Road at around 9.30am yesterday.

The woman, aged in her early 30s, got stuck while she was walking her dog.

The rescue teams used mud rescue gear including inflatable rescue paths and a mud lance – a long probe connected to a high pressure air cylinder to free mud around a limb – along with a lifeboat from the RNLI to get to the woman, who was trapped by one leg in the mud for more than two hours.

She was checked over by ambulance crews as a precaution after showing signs of slight hypothermia.

Fire crews from New Milton, Brockenhurst and Eastleigh, along with Coastguard Officers, the RNLI and an ambulance team eventually managed to release her after about 90 minutes.

A spokesman for Solent Coastguard said: “The tricky part was getting out to her.

“It was, generally speaking, a very tricky extraction for the crews because we had to get her leg free.

“You can’t put too much force on the body when you’re pulling it so we have equipment to help us get people out.

“Down that area there’s recently been a mudslide and in particular that’s an indication that something is not right, so people need to keep clear of it.

“People naturally tend to think that if their dog can walk across then they can walk across.”