AN elderly man in his 80s had a lucky escape after he was stuck in the mud having tried to walk past a landslip at Swanage on Saturday afternoon.

By pure chance, two off-duty members of the Swanage Coastguard Rescue team happened to be in the area at the time.

They managed to rescue the pensioner from Middlesex who was none the worse for his ordeal.

A coastguard spokesman said the man was very embarrassed.

He added: "It could have been a lot more serious."

He said about six people have been stuck in mud after ignoring landslip warning signs and taped off areas along the Dorset coast in recent weeks.