A car that got stuck on a Cornish beach right before Storm Ciaran was due to hit was saved by an extraordinary stroke of luck: a big pickup truck there to retrieve an ice cream stand that spent the summer on the sand.

It's not clear whether the driver had simply made a wrong turn or thought driving on Crantock Beach would be a good idea.

Whatever the cause, the family outing threatened to end in disaster, with the low tide due to turn into a much higher tide than usual thanks to a storm surge.

Luckily, an ice cream container belonging to local ice cream maker Roskilly's, that spends the summer on the beach, was about to be towed away by a pickup truck before the storm hit.

Seeing the stuck-car drama unfold, the pickup truck crew volunteered to save the day by towing the family's car back to safety.

They were just hours away from a high tide that was due to swamp the entire beach.

It's not known whether the driver was local or an out-of-towner unfamiliar with the risks of driving on beaches.

A family outing gets stuck after accidentally turning onto a beach at low tide as Storm Ciaran approaches. Luckily Roskilly ice cream's container which spends summer on the beach was about to be lifted off before the storm hits. The guys seeing the drama unfold volunteered to help out by towing the family car back to safety, The beach will completely flood in just a few hours with the high tide pushed by the incoming storm. Crantock, Cornwall, UK