Tides are a hell of a thing, as the owners of one BMW 4-Series convertible in the U.K. discovered, after parking their vehicle on a beach last weekend. The coastguard had to be called out to recover the hardtop convertible after it was washed out to sea.
The St Agnes Coastguard Search & Rescue Team posted a video of the incident, and said that they were called out to the scene at 8:30 a.m. to make sure that all of the occupants were safe. Fortunately, no one was harmed in the incident, and officials remained on the scene until the car was extracted. By 10:19 a.m. the team could stand down.
Although the BMW was only submerged to the top of its wheel wells, the rescue attempt was no doubt still complicated. Photos shared by the St Agnes Coastguard show waves crashing over the top of the car, suggesting that water likely made it into the cabin through the open windows.
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Photos St Agnes Coastguard/Facebook
In a Facebook post, the coastguard helpfully pointed out that “you can’t park there sir!” Footage of the aftermath of the incident shows seawater dripping from the car, which is unlikely to be very good for it in the long term.
The incident occurred at Trevaunance Beach in Cornwall last weekend, during a holiday weekend. With many UK residents out for the weekend, enjoying the weather, some social media commenters were upset with the driver of this BMW for wasting the coastguard’s time and resources. Some even suggested that the owner should be sent a bill for the rescue.
However, others were simply amused by the incident. One commenter wrote, “the lengths some people will go to avoid the £3 car park fee!” Another simply wrote, “it’s not summer in Cornwall until…”