Skegness Magazine

SAND DIG KIDS CHEAT DEATH

Source: Skegness Standard 1975

IT WAS to have been the beach dig to beat all digs But the hole digging and his 11-year-old by 12-year-old Andrew Tayor and year-old step-sister, Rockingham on the beach at Chapel St Leonards nearly ended in tragedy.
When after three hours’ hard work with their ordinary four-inch metal spades on Thursday morning they got down to six feet, the sand caved in on them, burying them almost up to their chests.
There was still three feet of sand which could have fallen on the trapped children, whose heads were well below beach level. Fortunately a boy looked into the hole and told his mother, who went for help.
She fetched Elaine’s father, Mr George Rockingham, from the post office in South Road, where he is postmaster. With an assistant, Mr Ken Morris, he dug the children out while other holidaymakers pulled away the sand from the edges. Planks were fetched from a nearby amusement arcade to shore up the sides.
“They dug furiously for half an hour,” said Mrs Rockingham. “They reckoned they’ve never worked so hard in their lives.
“The children were just trying to see how big a hole they could dig. It was about four feet long. They were extremely lucky. The thought of what could have happened is just unbearable.
“We’re very grateful to the woman who came for us and then went back to help; we still don’t know who she is.”

Skegness Fire Brigade were called but when they got there the children had been released.
Andrew is one of Mrs Rockingham’s children from a previous marriage now living with his father and Elaine is one of her husband’s children from his previous marriage now living with her mother. They were there on holiday from Eastbourne and Kent until Saturday.