A BOAT owner trapped up to his chest in mud in Watchet Marina was pulled to safety just minutes before the tide came flooding in.

Chris Stevens fell as he was stepping from his 26-foot motorsailor onto a pontoon on Monday.

Jon Fairman, who runs locally based boat restoration and maintenance company Infinity Marine, sprang into action to rescue Mr Stevens after seeing him fall.

"It was just after lunch and I was sitting in my van," said Mr Fairman.

"Chris was getting a can of diesel out and I suddenly saw him disappear over the side.

"I wasn't sure at first if he had landed on the pontoon but when he didn't get up I realised he must be in the marina."

Mr Fairman ran the 100 metres or so to the scene and enlisted the help of another berth holder, Tim Green, who was working nearby on his boat but had not heard Mr Stevens calling for help.

"Chris was up to his chest in mud," said Mr Fairman.

"We managed to pull him out and almost immediately the water came flooding in around his boat."

Luckily Mr Stevens was uninjured.

"We hosed him down and I found him a change of clothes," said Mr Fairman.

"He was fine - in fact, he was a bit embarrassed.

"There wasn't anything heroic about what we did - we just got him out."

Mr Stevens, who has since returned to his home in the Malverns and could not be contacted by the Free Press, is believed to have kept a boat in Watchet for the past four or five years.

The incident happened just a week or so after a geophysical survey of the marina and outer harbour was carried out with a view to resolving the long-standing mud problem.

The £6,000 survey was commissioned by marina operator Watchet Harbour Marina and is expected to provide information on the depth of the mud and the profile of the sea bed to help engineers and sediment experts design a practical solution to the mud issue, possibly based on keeping the silt in suspension.

The marina has suffered from varying levels of mud almost since it opened in 2001, partly due to its geographical location and design.

Despite the use of specialist equipment, dredging has failed to eradicate the problem.

Marina manager James Burnell said falling from a boat, whether into water or mud, was always a risk.

"I have spoken to Mr Stevens and luckily he wasn't injured," he said.

"I understand he tripped over a rope. It was an unfortunate incident but it is always a risk around boats."