It takes 40 to rescue man stuck in the mud

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Luciano Vitiello, from Barking, had been walking with his wife Kathy at the foot of cliffs in Dorset when he plunged into the quagmire and became trapped after sinking two-and-a-half feet into the mud.

As he tried to heave himself free, he sank further, forcing Mrs Vitiello, 55, to summon help.

Her emergency call produced 20 firefighters from four crews, six coastguards, four police officers, a police launch with a three-man crew, three paramedics and two passers-by.

Two hours after Mr Vitiello had fallen into the muddy hole he was freed when two firemen laid a ladder over the ground to dig him out.

He was taken to the Royal Bournemouth Hospital for a check-up and a shower before being released.

Mr Vitiello, also 55,said today: "There had been a landslip there but the surface was dry so we walked across it to get to another part of the beach.

"I took a step and suddenly sunk into this soft mud. I tried to pull myself out but the more I tried to lift my leg the more I sunk. It was so deep. The mud was so solid that it took the fire brigade 30 minutes to dig their way through it."

The couple had been walking near a beach at Highcliffe after visiting their son in Bournemouth.

Mrs Vitiello, who works for an insurance company, said: "One moment we were walking side by side and the next he just stepped in this hole which was too big for him. He sank right down and two young lads who were on the beach came over to help but they started sinking too.

"We were very grateful to the fire brigade because they worked really hard to dig him out."

A spokeswoman for Dorset Fire and Rescue Service said: "We had a debrief at the scene because of the multitude of different emergency services involved."