"The ice cream van was all at sea"

The message flashed up on my screen: 'Tide coming in. 30 mins. Stuck in sand 6 – 7" deep.' I knew today was going to get interesting.

I raced to the scene and found the owner trying to pull his ice cream van out of the sand with a rope by hand. But it wasn't budging. The tide was already part way up the beach so driving to his van was impossible. I wasn't about to let him lose his van to the sea, but I had to think on my feet quickly. I managed to winch the van up to the promenade and secured it with a tow strap, then we waited.

Once the tide had gone out again we could finally tow the van to safety. Though I don't think he was quite ready to serve me an ice cream.

Paul Shea, Ramsgate Patrol