A Dalbeattie mum describes the terrifying moment her son began to sink in quicksand
She says there were no signs alerting anyone of quicksand.
Last updated 6th Aug 2024
A mum is urging people to be aware of the quicksand near a Scottish beauty spot in Dalbeattie after having to rescue her 5-year-old son from it. Kylie King says her son was playing at the rockpools at Rockcliffe beach and running around on the sand before she heard a cry for help.
She instantly knew it wasn’t a normal scream from her boy and rushed over to see him sinking fast into the sand.
“I heard him screaming, not his normal mum scream but an absolutely terrified scream. So, I took off my sandals and ran over and I could see he was stuck and was sinking. It was terrifying.”
Natural instinct kicked in and she reached out to pull him out, but she sank down to her knees.
After a battle trying to save herself and her son, she was able to drag him out before losing him completely.
King told us: “I thought for a second I was going to lose him, I swear on my life. My heart stopped just briefly, it was pretty terrifying”.
Having only lived in the area for around a year, the mum of one had never heard of anyone being in similar situations.
“My son is literally the only thing I have in my life”.
She didn't see any signs making people aware of quicksand on the beach, so she is urging people to be cautious and have notices installed:
“I feel like there should be signs 100% and some kind of awareness, I’m not really sure how else apart from signs. I would never have looked up such a thing so unless there is a sign right there at the beach, I don’t know how else I would know.”
She added that because there was nothing to say that danger was lying right under their noses, she never thought twice about letting her son play on the beach and they are both now a lot more sceptical of stepping foot onto any beach.
HM Coastguard has confirmed there are no signs at Rockcliffe Beach, near Dalbeattie stating there is sinking sand:
“There are no HMCG sinking sands signs at Rockcliffe Beach.
“There may be a sign (designed to surround a lifebuoy) advising beach users to call 999 and ask for Coastguard in an emergency. These can include a grid reference and/or What3Words reference. We are seeking further detail on this from the local Coastguard Rescue Team on this.”