Absolute Radio: Discover real music

The Vauxhall Victor 101 was lost in the mudflats of Brean Beach, Somerset, in 1973.

Beach wardens Dave Furber and Pete Williams discovered the car, owned by fishermen Terry Hart, half-a-mile from the shore.

Mr Hart said: ''I'm convinced it's my car which I lost in 1973. We were out fishing and the tide caught us. We tried to reverse the car out but the clutch went and it was goodbye car. It's so nice to see it back.''

Mr Furber said: ''We first noticed the vehicle at the weekend and several other parts have emerged nearby during recent days, including a steering wheel and door panels.''

It is thought that the heavily corroded remains of the vehicle have probably been uncovered due to recent rough weather and choppy waters.

Tourists frequently lose cars on the mudflats in what is the world's second largest tide and Burnham Area Rescue Boat is frequently called upon to save people from stranded and sinking vehicles.

The latest visitor to run into trouble was fisherman David Foster whose Honda 4x4 sank into the wet sand last month as he looked on helplessly.

The £25,000 vehicle was later towed free of the mud in a two-hour retrieval operation thought to have cost £3,000.

Every year Burnham Area Rescue Boat, a registered charity, make an estimated average of 25 rescues at a cost of £35,000.