A Bristol security guard sunk up to his waist in watery mud after going to answer the call of nature while walking to work.

David Wilkinson, 38, was caught short in Smoke Lane, Avonmouth, and stepped on to wasteland to relieve himself.

But within seconds he was up to his ankles in mud contaminated with sewage.

And to make matters worse, the battery on his phone had run down so he only had a few moments to call for help.

It happened as Mr Wilkinson, of Ashley Road, St Paul's, was walking to work in Avonmouth at about 5pm on Wednesday last week.

He said: "I stopped to answer the call of nature and within a minute or so my feet were stuck in the mud and I couldn't move.

"I thought, 'I'm in a bit of trouble here,; and I rang my partner Lisa on my mobile phone and told her what was happening.

"She thought I was joking at first but she realised I was serious.

"Within five minutes I was up to my waist. It was sucking me in."

Then Mr Wilkinson's phone stopped working and he was trapped alone in the mud.

His partner called the emergency services but couldn't give an exact location so firefighters had to search the area as Mr Wilkinson sank deeper.

Lisa also phoned his office to tell them why he was late for work and security guards joined the search of the area which has many ditches and marshy areas.

A man who works for DHL Freight and Contract Logistics eventually found Mr Wilkinson and guided firefighters to him. Crews quickly put a ladder across the marshy ground then tied a line around his waist.

They dug out some of the mud and used a high-pressure hose to loosen him from the marshy pit.

Mr Wilkinson's ordeal lasted two-and-a-half hours.

He said: "I can laugh about it now but at the time it was not so funny. If it had not been for the DHL guy I doubt anybody would have heard my shouts."

Mr Wilkinson is now trying to find out who is responsible for fencing off the site so that no one else gets stuck.

Avonmouth Councillor Spud Murphy said he would investigate and try to trace the owner of the land.