Four Cars Get Stuck on Towan Beach

Four Cars Get Stuck on Towan Beach

Image: Kevin Harmer

Four drivers had to have their cars rescued after parking on a West Country beach and getting stuck in the sand. It is the latest in a series of incidents in which motorists have had to be rescued from our beaches after their cars have got stranded.

Uncommon Sight on Towan Beach

Bemused onlookers witnessed an uncommon sight when four cars got beached all at the same time in Cornwall. The incident happened yesterday, Wednesday, August 2, and left drivers red-faced on Towan Beach, Newquay.

There has been a spate of drivers getting stuck after looking for a place to park. Pictures from yesterday morning show four black cars parked in formation. They eventually got help from lifeguards and managed to get the vehicles back onto solid ground, reports CornwallLive.

Witness Accounts

One witness, Steven O’Brien, from Barnsley, said: “I was walking down to the beach with my partner, two kids, and my mom and saw this convoy of cars driving down the cobbled ramp to the beach thinking, ‘what the f*** are they doing?’ and even said to someone, ‘I didn’t know cars were allowed onto the beach’ and then the lifeguards in the hut got on the speakers saying, ‘please leave the beach, you’re not allowed to drive onto the beach this isn’t a car park. Oh, you’re stuck now’.”

Kevin Harmer said the drivers all the cars came down together and were probably looking for somewhere to park before getting stuck in the sand. Eventually, the cars were helped back to the road.

Kevin added: “They got pushed onto hard sand and took a fast run-up. The promenade was full of people cheering and clapping. (It took) about an hour for the lifeguards to sort it out.

“As the last one arrived lifeguards made an announcement that no vehicles are allowed on the beach. We see it most days but normally someone stops them just before the beach and turns them around.”

Community Reactions

The drivers weren’t met with much sympathy on Newquay community Facebook pages. Reacting in Newest Newquay, Suzie Maclean wrote: “I don’t understand why people think it is acceptable to drive on a beach.” Brogen Francis said: “I don’t think we should help them. Let them figure it out themselves.” JJ Murrell added: “Charge them for the rescue; it would still be cheaper than parking at Fistral.”