A dad has told how he had to pull his drowning son out from sinking sand on Ayr beach during a terrifying ordeal.
Jay Forbes fears the deceiving problem puddle on the beach is a fatality waiting to happen after his two-year-old ‘inhaled water’ when he fell into the dangerous sinkhole.
He is worried about the 'risk to life' part of the beach between the ice cream kiosk and the Blackburn Esplanade car park.
The dad-of-two rushed to rescue the boy from the sinking sand before becoming stuck himself and was helped out by a kind dog walker who rushed to the family’s aid.
Jay, 26, and his wife Hayley, 27, both from Ayr, had taken their boy JJ and his little baby sister aged 10 months out for a walk with their new puppy for a day at the seaside on Saturday.
However, their day out soon turned into a near disaster after JJ went to explore the puddle before falling into the muddy water.
Jay told Ayrshire Live: “We went to the beach to take our new puppy out for the first time and to let the kids stretch their legs.
“My two-year-old had his splash suit and wellies on so he was splashing in the sea as we walked down the beachfront on the sand further.
“My wife decided to take JJ away from the sea so he didn't get too cold. So we were walking nearer the wall.
"My son, just like any other two-year-old, saw a puddle and decided to go over to explore. At this point I was on my knees putting our puppy back on the lead.
“At this point my wife started screaming, 'He is face down – get him, get him'”
“I ran over to my son who was face down under the water. When I went to grab him I fell in as well up to my waist.
“I grabbed my son and chucked him to his mum who attended to him as he was still choking on the water.
“Thankfully a very kind dog walker was right next to us and saw the full thing and helped pull me out of the water.
"My feet were stuck in the sinking sand. When I got out I checked my son was still breathing and okay.
“I ran up to get the car and drove straight back to my wife who by this time had stripped my son of all his soaking wet clothes and wrapped him in her jacket.
"We drove straight to Ayr Hospital A&E.
“My son thankfully was only in for a couple of hours, and just has a sore stomach from the inhaled seawater he took in, and was extremely cold but nothing serious.”
Jay told how the whole ordeal was over in seconds as he had reacted fast while his son struggled to breath in the puddle.
He added: “There was no time to think about how I felt, I did what any parent would have done in that situation. My priority was to pull my son from the water.
“It wasn't until we were on the way to the hospital that the reality of what had happened kicked in and how terrifying the situation actually had been and how different things could have turned out.
Jay fears the incident “could have been worse” had his son plunged feet first into the sinking sand.
He added: “It was a very misleading puddle, we’ve had really bad weather with a lot of rainfall but underneath the surface was a sinking hole and you have no idea how deep it is.
“When my wife was attending to our son, I shouted, "Hayley, I'm stuck".
“I could feel that one foot was stuck higher than the other, so I wasn't at the bottom of the hole either. I could feel them sinking further.
“My wife attempted to pull me out but she wasn't strong enough.
“Thankfully, a gentleman that was walking his dog nearby saw everything unfold and came over to help and was able to pull me free.
“I was stuck with one leg up to my waist, if it wasn’t for the dog walker who helped it could have been a different story, if JJ stepped in feet first I dread to think what could have happened."
The panicked dad has revealed how he tried to call South Ayrshire Council’s emergency number to report the hazard but no one picked up despite two attempts.
He eventually was put through to them after calling police on 101 who alerted the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
Now he hopes council chiefs will sit up and take note of the danger zone before it's too late.
He added: “Our hope is that the council take on board the severity of this accident and take this as a warning, before it becomes a fatal accident.
“We are hoping and will follow up personally that the council will signpost areas of sinking sand along the beach.
“The fire commander said it was a ‘serious accident waiting to happen’ when they went down to inspect it.”
A South Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: "We were alerted to an incident at Ayr Beach on Saturday, February 19 where a hole had formed due to unstable sand. Our grounds maintenance team have now attended the area and have stabilised the sand.
"We would advise the public to use caution when attending the beach following inclement weather."
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson added: “We were alerted at 3.35pm on Saturday, February 19 to investigate a potential sinkhole at the Esplanade at Ayr Beach.
“Operations control mobilised one fire appliance. Firefighters worked with partners and investigated the area. Crews then left the scene.”
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