Beachgoers are being warned to be careful near sand dunes after a young girl escaped serious injury after becoming trapped underneath a collapsed sand dune on Newborough Beach yesterday afternoon.



HM Coastguard was alerted to the incident just after 5.15pm and Rhosneigr and Bangor Coastguard Rescue Teams were sent to the scene alongside North Wales Fire and Rescue Service. The young girl was trapped for several minutes in the collapsed dune until members of the public nearby managed to dig her head free which allowed her to breathe.

The serious nature of the incident has prompted HM Coastguard to issue a strong safety warning against digging holes and tunnels in sand dunes and they are also urging parents to keep a close eye on their children when near sand dunes.

Gareth A Jones, Senior Maritime Operations Officer for HM Coastguard said: 'This young girl is very lucky to have escaped serious injury or even death. It was a very close call indeed and the circumstances could have been very different had those who’d helped her not managed to free her airway. Sand dunes by their very nature are notoriously unstable and digging large holes or tunnels in them can be extremely dangerous or even fatal.

'People need to think that if it’s taken two hours to dig the hole or tunnel – that’s how long it will take someone to dig them out. We would urge anyone at the seaside to take extra care in sand dunes and especially not to dig or tunnel into the side of them. We’re not trying to tell kids not to dig at the beach but when you dig into the side of sand dunes or dig giant holes, the chances of a sand collapse are extremely high.'