this quaint English village might look
like the perfect place for cream teas
and picnics on the beach but its harbors
a deadly secret the whole area is
covered with dangerous patches of
quicksand
when water floods into sand it forces
the sand particles apart causing the
ground to loosen what's left is a soggy
combination of the two that can no
longer support as much weight so when
you stand on it you start to sink I want
to find out if it's actually possible to
get out of quicksand and to do that I'm
gonna have to get in it but I'm not
going anywhere around here without the
help of the professionals I George how
you doing pleased to meet you and you
how long have you been a Coast Guard in
the area 24 years right but you're a
proper expert in quicksand you're armed
yeah we run around here fur coats and
rescue yeah you're the right man to be
in charge of this demonstration yeah
we'll look after you all right that's
that's good to hear do I need any
special kits or anything I don't think
you do it like that you might frighten
the fish I think we better go and get a
shave gum to keep me dry and warm I put
on a totally watertight dry suit
normally worn by divers dry suit on and
I was ready to go but as I walked out
across the bay I started to Felix had
nervous about my impending descent into
the unknown all right George this looks
like the right kind of stuff I just
stumped just step into it then i'ma go
in that wall okay yeah here we go
I'm trusting you not just gonna
disappear though no no sink like a stone
you're not gonna disappear
right appear to be sinking oh my
goodness REE I was sinking fast
and my weight was pushing the water away
from the sand creating a vacuum around
my legs and pulling me south okay I'm
starting to feel a little bit
uncomfortable about the whole situation
now I could feel the pressure of the
sand against me and as much as I tried I
just couldn't move my legs get a stop
going down on ya before I knew it I was
in deep it had only taken 8 minutes for
me to sink down to my waist while this
signs around this specific area here
saying you know danger quick Sam don't
walk here well I work today tomorrow or
this won't be quick sound it'll move
right and it moved in by the tidal
movement so what could I possibly do to
get out of this situation if you weren't
here George because I feel completely
helpless well the first thing you're
gonna do in the realist situation is
shout and scream and go mad but yeah
the book says sit down lie down and if
you sit down or lie down all you're
doing is making your footprint bigger
for your weight so it does work in
certain circumstances where you can lie
back and just let the body flawed right
George it doesn't seem to be doing
anything no I quite away in
philosophically it looks a fair thick
mix of quicksand that got it feels
really solid and there's nothing I can
do like wiggling my legs or there's if
you wiggle you just go further in I can
really feel the pressure now I mean that
feels like yeah
really solid he does get to the stairs
where eats up the blood for so you don't
want to be in there till long well I'm
stuck fast and there's no way I'm
getting out my own to be honestly I'm
starting to feel a bit uncomfortable
about the whole situation so if you
wouldn't mind getting me out George that
have been marvelous
although the Coast Guard team was here
with me
I was scared stiff to pull one leg free
from this stuff requires the amount of
force needed to lift a small car so I
had no idea how they were gonna get me
out
they started to plug the sand around my
legs with water whilst frantically
digging away with their hands I felt
like I was stuck in concrete
yeah
after frantically working for 10 minutes
they finally freed one leg but my other
was still wedged hard and I was starting
to get tired such intense pressure on
your legs can cause deep vein thrombosis
I'm only submerged to my hips if you're
unlucky enough to go down as far as your
neck then there's a good chance that the
pressure on your chest could prevent you
from breathing properly and believe me
whilst all this is happening the last
thing you need is to be short of breath
all right ah our cheers voice I thought
that is the most horrendous thing I've
ever done in my life so will you die if
you get stuck in quicksand if Tarzan
isn't about and the Coast Guard's
nowhere in sight then I don't really
fancy your chances so tread carefully