Just when you hope people will have learnt a lesson, someone comes along and chooses to leave their car somewhere that can only lead to it being stranded or washed out to sea. This unlucky trend seems to be happening more and more, particularly in Cornwall - a popular holiday destination for both those across the UK and around the world.
From getting stuck in the sand, to not realising how far in the tide comes and returning to find your vehicle now submerged on a slipway - it's the stuff of nightmares for some and can lead to tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage, as well as a lengthy and costly recovery process. What's more, it's meant that some vehicles costing hundreds of thousands of pounds have been stuck in the sand, or submerged under water - like a £120,000 Bentley and even a £200,000 Ferrari used in a photo shoot on the beach. Yikes!
As Cornwall Live reports, there have been tractor rescues, an ice cream van which has rolled onto the beach and recently one owner of an £80,000 Range Rover was left almost completely underwater, along with its boat trailer. Here's a comprehensive list of 22 times cars have had a bit of an identity crisis and believed themselves to be a gadget from a James Bond film...
Read more: Range Rover costing £80,000 submerged by rising tide after breaking down
Portreath Beach (May 2021)
A car became stuck in the sand after a driver parked on a beach in Cornwall in the dark back in May 2021 The vehicle was found the next morning on Portreath beach after it stayed there overnight. A spokesperson for the Portreath coastguard team shared the picture below on social media and explained that the motorist had driven onto the beach - a regular occurrence in Cornwall.
They said: "Portreath Coastguard Rescue Team were tasked to reports of a car stuck on the beach at Portreath. On arrival we confirmed that a car had become stuck in the sand after they had driven onto the beach last night in the dark.
"After their decision to camp overnight, a member of the public reported this on their morning walk. After attempting to free the vehicle with the police it was then decided to put the owner in contact with a local farmer who gave up their time to come and retrieve the vehicle from the beach."
The coastguard continued: "The team issued some safety advice to the driver and pointed them in the direction of a more suitable parking spot. In trouble at the coast? Dial 999 and ask for the coastguard."
Towan Beach (October 2017)
A man once watched in disbelief as a driver came down the slipway onto Towan Beach in Newquay, parked and got out with his family, including a young baby, and went for a walk. You won’t be surprised at what happened next – he got stuck.
A group of about ten people who were in the area tried without luck to get it free and the vehicle had to be dragged out by a tractor no less. Witness John Barkham, who also went to the driver’s aid, said it was “complete stupidity” that led him to get into trouble as the tide was coming in quickly.
“There were loads of people down there trying to help him, he was stuck for a good half an hour or so," he said. "There were at least ten of us, but it just wouldn’t budge. It wasn’t going anywhere. Everyone was taking photos and videos and saying they were going to put in on YouTube.
“The sea got to just over the wheels, then a surfer came back down in a van and tied a rope on to try and get him out, but the rope snapped. I've never seen anything like it before. It was unbelievable.”
With help failing, the driver was then said to “give up” and simply started unloading his car, seemingly accepting that it would soon be covered by the rising tide. “Then a tractor pulled up, just in time because the sea was coming in and it was already covering the wheels of the car,” added Mr Barkham. “He’s all smiles now. It was ridiculous, complete stupidity. I guess he didn’t want to pay for parking.”
Porth Beach, near Newquay (2022)
You can always rely on Porth Beach to provide the crème de le crème of beach parking fails. When the summer hits, you can just sense them coming - no matter how many times people are warned. While not the worst instance we've ever seen, visitors to Porth Beach at Newquay in May said a vehicle had seemingly got its front wheel stuck in the sand.
Captured on camera, the white van can be seen parked on the beach, with the front end visibly stuck. One woman first noticed the vehicle at 6.45am and said it was still there at 8.30am. "Porth Beach just keeps on giving," she explained. "To be fair it looked like they had made an attempt to get it out and failed."
It's one of a handful of similar incidents on the same beach - which does actually have a car park on part of the sand - this year alone. Captured on video, half a dozen people are seen trying to free what appeared to be a blue Volkswagen Transporter van from the beach in April. One witness described it as "embarrassing" after 20 minutes had passed and the people had made no progress.
During the Easter break in 2022 a Mazda also got trapped on the same beach. The group planned to hang out but instead had to dig the racing green modern classic out of Porth Beach. A video captured the engine roaring, the wheels going around but the car going absolutely nowhere.
Come June, an absolute 'you had to see it to believe it' moment occurred when an AA van got stuck on the beach - alongside the car it was there to rescue. A group of people were seen desperately trying to free both vehicles from the sand beneath.
Pictures show the recovery driver alongside the group trying to dig out the AA van from the sand. Seemingly less than a metre away next to it is what appears to be a white Ford C-Max also stuck in the sand. A child's pink beach spade was also planted nearby.
One witness, Lisa Hammond, said it took a "good half an hour to 45 minutes" for the group to free both vehicles. She added that this is not the first time this has happened and said a sign "really needs to be put in place" on the beach. She's clearly not wrong.
Polzeath Beach (June 2021)
In one of the worst we have ever seen, this car was spotted floating in the sea just off one of Cornwall's most popular beaches in June 2021. Polzeath Beach Ranger Service confirmed that fortunately nobody was inside the vehicle, a black Volkswagen.
The ranger service posted the photo on its Facebook page, with a warning urging people in the area to stay away from the water. The police and coastguard were informed and aware of the situation. Photographs taken showed the car fully floating in the water at one point.
The beach ranger service confirmed that the incident was reported to the authorities at around 3am that morning. The vehicle was checked, and it was confirmed that nobody was inside. The Environment Agency also attended and carried out pollution checks, and were "confident" there had been no pollution as a result.
Polzeath Beach Ranger Service also reminded the public that it is an offence to drive on any of the beaches in Cornwall, unless you have the permission of the landowner.
Andy Stewart, a spokesperson for Polzeath Beach Ranger Service later told CornwallLive: "The car was reported to the Coastguard and Police at 3am. It was confirmed nobody was inside, and it has been checked by the Padstow Harbour Authority for safety this morning before eventually drying out on the beach. The Environment Agency were also here carrying out random Bathing Water Quality checks this morning and were confident there had been no pollution."
St Ives (October 2017)
The falling tide at St Ives in 2017 revealed the top half of yet another submerged vehicle which left onlookers wondering just what had happened. Crowds on the beach and Smeaton’s Pier could only watch as the new pick-up truck was uncovered.
So why was the vehicle there? Well, it later turned out that the owner went to check his boat and his truck got stuck well and truly in the soft sand. With the tide coming in he could do nothing to save it and had to abandon it and it remained in situ for about 12 hours. It was down to the RNLI lifeboat crew to use their tractor to eventually pull it out.
Port Isaac (July 2021)
A lucky woman was said to have "got away lightly" after leaving her car to almost sink on a slipway in Port Isaac. Having left the red Renault Megane unattended in Port Isaac, the woman was said to have been "embarrassed" as she ran back to the vehicle as the tide rose around it.
The vehicle can be seen immersed in a shallow pool of water at the edge of the harbour and a witness said the owner was forced to "wheel spin" up the slipway having "got away lightly".
He said: "It was obscured from view as a tractor was in front until it moved to pull in a boat. Then everyone noticed it. A woman came running down and jumped in. Tried reverse but ended up wheel spinning forwards and up the slip."
He said that the vehicle was left "a bit wet" with the underneath of the car hanging off but that overall she had a lucky escape, although "didn't look happy" about it. "She got away lightly I think," he added.
The picture captures the scene moments before the woman, who was alone, suddenly appears to rescue her car just in time as the tide rose and she escaped with it relatively unscathed. A lesson learned, hopefully.
Great Western Beach (July 2019)
Dozens of people rushed to help after a tourist in a hire car drove straight onto a Newquay beach and got stuck in the sand. The small silver Renault ended up on Great Western Beach at around 6.30pm as plenty of people enjoyed the late evening sunshine.
Despite several attempts by well-wishers to help the stranded motorist and push the car back off the beach, it proved too difficult and the car was still awaiting recovery an hour later. An onlooker, who shared pictures of the incident with CornwallLive, said: "It happened around 6.30pm, tourist with hired car. People on the beach tried hard to help however the car is too close to the barrier at the back."
Staff at the Great Western Hotel, which overlooks the beach, say cars driving down Tolcarne Road and finding themselves stranded on the beach has become a common occurrence. Newquay Police have been called to several incidents and they have in the past tweeted: "Friendly advice! Don't drive on the beaches in Newquay you may get stuck! Recovery will cost about £250! Use the car park."
St Ives (October 2017)
A driver made a frantic rescue attempt to retrieve his van after it was submerged in St Ives Harbour. The man was tending to his boat at about 3pm while the vehicle was parked on the slipway opposite the The Sloop Inn.
Witness Clive Oxley said the man tried to drive his van off the sand but the wheels started to spin and became buried. A group of people then came to the man's rescue and tried to use ropes to tow it but they kept breaking. Mr Oxley added: "Eventually they managed to tow it out with a thicker rope." He added that he thought the van hadn't suffered any damage.
Great Western Beach (May 2017)
A drunk man drove his car onto a Newquay beach and ended up in the sea. The driver was spared jail. Police were called to Great Western Beach in May where the VW Golf was found in the water.
One onlooker said officers made the driver climb out of the boot of the car. The driver pleaded guilty at Bodmin Magistrates' Court to driving under the influence of alcohol. He was four times over the legal drink-drive limit when he drove to the shoreline.
A post on Facebook at the time showed the work required to remove the truck from the beach. Jamie Clogg and Dean Cartmel, from Towan Motors, were thanked for their help to get it off the sand and to a safe location. The 38-year-old driver from Newquay was given an eight-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.
Treyarnon Bay, Padstow (June 2021)
An unlikely vehicle was towed to safety in 2021 after almost rolling over at a beauty spot. The incident involving an ice-cream van happened on Friday, June 25, at Treyarnon Bay near Padstow.
The ice cream van found itself in a 'precarious situation' with fears it might roll onto the main walkway to the beach. Padstow coastguards were called at around midday to assist the lifeguards with public safety.
They were also joined by the fire service. But it was ultimately a local farmer who saved the day and towed the van to safety. A spokesman for Padstow Coastguard said: "The team were tasked to assist the lifeguards with public safety.
"On arrival on the scene, it was apparent that a vehicle was in a precarious situation with fears it might roll onto the main walkway to the beach. The team set up a safety barrier and awaited the arrival of Padstow Fire and Rescue Service. In the meantime the situation was rectified by a local farmer."
Towan Beach, Newquay (July 2015)
It was a humiliating moment as a driver got his car stuck on Towan Beach, at the same as time the tide came rolling in. It is thought that the driver had ventured onto the sand to go for a surf.
But soon after he must have had a sinking feeling when he discovered that the black hatchback car was stuck fast in the sand. It took a team of the driver’s friends, several passers-by and a tow truck to free the water-damaged car.
One witness said: “A tow truck came and pulled them out. They were very lucky. I think they were surfers. If not, there were a lot of surfers helping them.”
Great Western Beach, Newquay (August 2014)
A holidaymaker who got his Mercedes stuck on a beach in 2014 said he was hunting for a parking space. Aaron Duckworth, 22 at the time, had driven down from Manchester to stay at the Great Western Hotel in Newquay.
He couldn’t find a parking spot and drove down a narrow road and straight onto the darkened beach at about 10pm. But his white C-Class coupe quickly got stuck – with only an hour before the tide came in.
Red-faced Aaron said: “We were down for a wedding and the hotel – the Great Western Hotel – didn’t have any parking that I could see. There was a narrow road and I thought there was a car park down there. I couldn’t see any signs and it was dark and the next thing I know I was on a beach called the Great Western.
“I couldn’t steer the car or reverse. People I didn’t know came and helped us push it out. The police arrived too and told me I was the fifteenth person it had happened to that year.” He added: “The tide was coming in and I was a bit panicky. It’s lucky there were so many helpful people.”
Marazion (August 2015)
A rather wealthy red-faced owner had to be rescued after getting his £120,000 Bentley stuck in the sand. The young driver ventured onto the beach at Marazion in the luxury vehicle while his family enjoyed a barbecue. However, the man, thought to be Russian, then found himself in a spot of bother when the wheels kept sinking in the sand.
It took a determined team of locals more than five hours to free the Continental Flying Spur. You can view the video below - and there wasn't great deal of sympathy for the owner.
Paul Hobbs: "Should have left it there."
Vivienne Deakin: "What a total moron."
Bob Groves: "£120,000 car being driven by a £12.50 brain."
Geoff Allbright: "Surely one can drive one’s Bentley wherever one desires. If the wretched thing gets stuck then the butler will come and tow it out."
Mandy Robertson: "No grey matter ...what a nitwit."
Jordan Beresford: "Even the tractor started to sink. Thing is the guy must be intelligent to be able to get a job to fund such a car yet stupid enough to think his 2.5-tonne car can drive through sand. Unless mummy and daddy bought it for him?"
Watergate Bay, near Newquay (January 2014)
And as if that wasn't pricey enough, a £200,000 Ferrari spent a bit more time in the sand than expected when it was used for a photo shoot. The lime green 458 Spider, which has a top speed of 200mph and is capable of 0 to 60mph in just over three seconds, prompted concerns the vehicle had been driven onto the beach by a reckless owner.
It later emerged that it was in fact being used in a fashion shoot for Official Ferrari Magazine. It still required a tractor and trailer to pull it out of the sand.
The vehicle had been loaned to the magazine by the Carrs Ferrari dealership in Exeter and the plan was for it to take centre stage in a fashion shoot that would appear in a forthcoming issue. Shortly after the vehicle was unloaded, however, its wheels became embedded in grooves in the sand that had been left by a tractor that delivered it onto the beach. Ferrari confirmed that the incident had taken place, but said at no point was the vehicle at risk of being swept out to sea.
Great Western Beach, Newquay (December 2017)
A local farmer rescued a car on the resort’s popular Great Western Beach. The farmer arrived in the nick of time, as the tide was lapping at the wheels of the car.
The driver had gone onto the beach in order to turn around, but was unable to get very far in the soft sand. While the farmer made his way to the scene members of Newquay Coastguard took the driver’s elderly passengers, who were cold and had medical conditions, to a local hotel.
Fortunately the driver was put in touch with the farmer, and arrangements were made to tow his car out moments before the tide arrived. A spokesperson for Newquay Coastguard said: “The team was paged at 2.22pm on Saturday, December 2, to a report of a vehicle stuck in the sand at Great Western Beach in Newquay.
“The team’s role was to ensure no members of the public were at risk, not to assist recovery of the car. On arrival the team made sure everyone was safe and conveyed the driver’s elderly passengers, who were cold and had medical conditions, to a local hotel where they were safe and warm."
Towan Beach, Newquay (November 2020)
A delivery driver was attempting to turn around on Towan Beach, in Newquay, when it became clear that he was stuck. Fortunately a group of men working on the nearby harbour wall came to the rescue and helped get the driver out in time to finish off the rest of his deliveries for the day.
Mark Watmuff was there as the incident unfolded and caught some pictures of the harbour workers lending a hand. He said: "Lucky escape for this DPD driver this afternoon on a Newquay beach near the harbour. Good job the tide was out and these workers could pull him out or this situation could have been a lot worse.
"Anyway all ended up well especially for this embarrassed driver. The guys that helped him are doing the harbour wall and are still there today. He thought he could turn around on the sand in a manoeuvre he soon regretted.
"Like I said it was a good job those guys were there doing the wall to help him out otherwise the DPD van would have ended up being washed away. Lucky man but good community spirit in assisting this driver to get back on his merry way."
Swanpool (May 2022)
A local had to ride to the rescue after a pair of tourists reversed their car onto a beach because they couldn’t be bothered to carry their kayak from the car park - and got stuck all night. Mark Moseley was driving past Swanpool Beach in Falmouth in May when he spotted two men trying to shovel their BMW out of the gravel and sand just above the tide line.
The engineer who lives in the area had been checking out the surf for a quick bodyboard session and decided to stop instead and give the pair from Guildford a hand. He said: “The two blokes said they came last night and couldn’t be bothered carrying their kayak from the car park to the sea so they decided to back the car onto the beach even though there is a sign that asks people not to drive any vehicle onto the beach. Guess what? They got stuck all night.”
The car park is just on the other side of the road, less than 20 metres from the water’s edge. The 54-year-old granddad-of-four added: “They were lucky to have backed their car just above the tide line and that the sea didn’t cover it or push it further back.”
Mark, who builds engines for a living, said he was driving past the beach when he noticed the two men desperately trying to free their car with a pair of shovels without any success as the more they tried to drive off the more they buried their car into the sand. He said that when he spoke to them they told him they’d be out there all night trying to shift the BMW.
Perranporth (July 2022)
A group of beachgoers became the butt of jokes after driving onto a sandy beach where no traffic is allowed - and getting stuck. The BMW came a cropper on a Saturday evening - but was eventually pushed out by people nearby.
The incident happened at Perranporth when a group failed to read the signs that prohibit all traffic from accessing the beach unless for deliveries to the Watering Hole, or for 4x4 RNLI lifeguard vehicles and Surfers Against Sewage beach cleans.
Considering that even 4x4 vehicles can struggle in the soft sand at the famous surfing and holiday hotspot, perhaps it came as no surprise to anyone watching when the BMW also got stuck. The picture taken by Josh Munyard shows two lads shovelling the rear wheels of the car by hand with two of their mates just looking on by the front of the car.
St Just (July 2022)
The owner of a Range Rover that ended up floating away in a Cornish river told of her family's desperate bid to save it after the engine failed. The annual visitors to St Just on the Roseland were no strangers to the harbour and its tides when they backed their Range Rover down the slipway to launch their boat from a trailer as they had done many times before.
But things took a dreadful turn when the engine on the 13-year-old vehicle failed. There was much ridicule locally and when images of the 4x4 floating in the Carrick Roads were shared on social media by people who made presumptions about what happened, usually deciding the tourist owners had misjudged or been unaware of the tide. But the truth was far more serious and dramatic.
The owner, who had bought the vehicle for £6,000, also lambasted locals and witnesses who she said made no attempt to help them - as her own child had to watch her "sobbing" at the water's edge near Truro. Far from having left the vehicle and being caught out by the tide, as many presumed, they had actually tried to cause as little disruption by going to the shore in darkness.
We remind people once again, please do not drive onto beaches unless allowed, and in a suitable vehicle and know it is safe. In any coastal emergency, dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard.
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