NINE people had to be rescued by the RNLI after becoming stranded on a sandbar near Clevedon’s seafront yesterday evening (Mon).

At just after 5.30pm, Weston’s volunteer crew received reports of several people who had been caught out by the tide.

They had been playing cricket on the sandbar, which was about 100m from the shore, when the water level began to rapidly rise.

The boat and shore crew arrived at the scene just 20 minutes after receiving the first call and were able to pick up all of the casualties and transfer them to Clevedon Pier, where they were handed over to members of the coastguard.

On their return to Weston, the crew was also called to reports of three people spotted swimming near the mouth of the River Axe. It was feared they could have got into trouble due to the speed of the incoming flood tide. All three were picked up and safely taken ashore.