LIFEBOAT crews were in a sticky situation on Thursday evening after a trailer got stuck in the harbour.

The crew were returning from an exercise when the vehicle became lodged in the soft sand outside Mudeford Lifeboat Station.

A volunteer at the station said: "We have got some soft sand just off the slipway and the trailer got bogged down."

He said the RNLI had been filming the crew on that day. "What they will use I don't know," he added.

A RNLI spokesman said the crew's equipment was all intact.

She said the crew had been in Boscombe earlier that morning for the launch of the charity's Respect the Water campaign, which is advising people in the proper techniques to use when stranded in water.

In particular it will emphasise the importance of keeping calm and floating rather than thrashing around while awaiting rescue.