IN terms of expensive mistakes, this has to be worthy of a

prize.

The owners of this Land Rover Freelander were backing their

boat into the water at Crow Point, Braunton, North Devon, when

the vehicle became stuck in the sand.

As they tried to free it, the wheels became bogged down

further and the vehicle eventually bottomed on the sand.

College lecturer Peter Stapleton noticed something unusual

in the water while out fishing nearby on his jetski.

He said: "At first I saw what I thought was a roof rack and

decided it needed to be pulled out before someone was hurt.

"But as I got closer I realised there was a vehicle attached

to it.

"I later learned that once the owners discovered they

weren't going to get the vehicle out of the water, they decided

they would go out in their boat until the tide went out

again.

"Once the tide had gone out, we looked inside – there were

no fish, but there was water everywhere. It was definitely a

write-off."

The five-year-old vehicle was eventually recovered.

Mr Stapleton said: "I think the man's wife doesn't want him

going anywhere near the water for a while."