VW Beetle Swamped by Tide at North Wales Beach

A woman’s white VW Beetle convertible has become the third vehicle in a week to get stuck at Traeth y Greigddu (Black Rock Sands) near Porthmadog 🚗💦

The holidaymaker, believed to be staying at a nearby campsite, got her car trapped in sand on Saturday evening and was unable to get help in time before the tide came in. The vehicle was completely submerged overnight and has reappeared this morning during recovery efforts.

This follows two campervan incidents earlier this week – one rescued just in time after being partly swamped, whilst another wasn’t so fortunate and remained stuck as Friday evening’s tide rolled in.

Local resident Kevin Gibson, who used to carry out vehicle recoveries on the beach, received a desperate call from the woman on Saturday night.

“She called to say her car was stuck in the sand and if I could help but I no longer work on recoveries so I advised her to try to get the details to contact the council which are on signs at the entrance,” he said.

“She said she was staying at a local campsite and didn’t really know the area. This is the third time in a week here. I do feel sorry for the people, it is shame for them.

“These are often expensive vehicles so it is a lot to lose and I don’t know what the situation is with insurance when this happens.”

The vast sandy beach at Morfa Bychan is one of the few in North Wales where cars can drive onto the sand. Despite being a TikTok favourite often proclaimed “one of the best beaches in Wales”, repeated warnings about soft sand and fast-changing tides are frequently ignored.

Mr Gibson believes this is the sixth such incident this year.