“Idiot summer” has begun in Cornwall.
Locals were left rolling their eyes when a tourist daringly drove their family minivan onto a harbour beach – and promptly got stuck.
The incident took place yesterday (20 June) on Newquay Sea Front beach in Newquay Harbour – a place full of crabbers, fishing boats and fishers.
READ MORE: ‘Should be on the mane road?’ Pony causes havoc after trotting along motorway in rush hour
- Advertisement -
A local woman captured the pictures and video, where a grey minivan can be seen parked on the sand.
One shot shows the vehicle right next to the shoreline, as four men help attach tow bars and lines to move it.
Another image reveals a man looking back at the camera, as a family sits on the sand with their pram nearby.
The video shows the moment the van was eventually set free, after being attached to two cars and having four men push the vehicle to pull it out of the sand.
“I heard that it was a family who had been out jet skiing,” the local woman, who wants to remain anonymous, told What’s The Jam.
- Advertisement -
“When it came time for them to get their jet ski out of the water, the dad drove down onto the sand with his van.
“He then tried to reverse which caused the two front wheels to become stuck to spin deeper into the sand.
“Onlookers began to gather and watch as the family of the jet skis tried to help push the van before getting the foot mats out of the van to try and wedge under the wheels.
- Advertisement -
“With every attempt, the front of the van began to get lower into the sand and the tide was coming in.
“Soon, a local came down with his truck, they tied a rope onto the back of the van and connected it to the truck, but it didn’t work.
“After five minutes, another truck emerged onto the beach which then attached a rope to the first truck.
“After two tries, the van became unstuck, but still needed to be towed until it faced the ramp.
“Thankfully, the first truck then came to get the jet skis from the water.”
The incident comes following other reports of cars getting stuck on beaches in Cornwall – including Towan.
Last summer, a local man was left laughing after spotting three cars stranded on a Cornish beach, saying “idiot summer” has begun.
Connor Duffy, 33, a chef from Newquay, Cornwall, was baffled after spotting the vehicles drive onto Towan beach.
Despite there being plenty of parking spots and car parks around Newquay, the trio decided to drive their cars right onto the beach – and soon needed assistance.
“They all drove down together, didn’t look like they knew each other as they were all separate cars,” Connor, from Newquay, told Jam Press.
“They then had to get two RNLI trucks to leave their posts of lifeguarding to come and sort them out.
“They had to be pulled out by locals as no tractors could be called in.
“Then they had to clear the ramp as they each took turns at speeding up the beach and onto the ramp without getting stuck again.
“Lifeguards tried to sort it as quickly as possible and did so.
“Just shows common sense isn’t really that common.
“Happens at least once a week now due to tourists not reading the signs and thinking that they are fine to do so.”
